In darker times
by Manueel
Summary: To keep Harry safe, he is sent back to Hogwarts in the year 1944. But is he really safe there? Set after OOTP. Rated M. Violence. Language. Slash. HP/TR
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer. Everything you recognize is not mine.**_

_**A/N. First chapter, thank you for reading and I hope you like it. **_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. _

_I have some urgent matters to discuss with you, so I will be visiting you at Privet Drive on august 31st during the afternoon.._

_I cannot, for obvious reasons, discuss my visit in this letter. Please make sure you pack your belongings for you will be leaving your relatives that day as well. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts_

Putting the letter down, Harry wondered what was so urgent that Professor Dumbledore could not wait untill September 1st. They would be seeing each other again on Hogwarts in two days after all.

Harry thought everything over in his mind, searching for any clue as to what the professor would want to discuss with him. It could be about the prophecy, but what was there to discuss? Harry already knew every line about it. He knew enough about it anyway, he would have to kill or be killed, and Harry knew he would never be able to destroy Voldemort.

Shuddering, Harry remembered that night. The night he was told about the prophecy, the night his godfather died. And it was all his fault. If he had not been so stupid, Sirius would still be alive.

His guilt burned inside him, eating him up. Every night he had nightmares about it, every night he saw Sirius falling, screaming it was all his fault, and every night Harry would wake up screaming and crying out that he was sorry.

He hardly left his room anymore. Nothing mattered, everyone he loved would die eventually. He couldn't put his friends in any more danger. If Voldemort was supposed to kill him, he might as well do it now.

But of course that would never happen, because he was the bloody boy-who-lived. Nothing was ever fair for him, people would be watching him. And Harry was too chicken to do it himself, so he had to wait until Voldemort would find him.

_O, Sirius, how I wish you would still be here. _Harry grabbed the mirror Sirius gave him and stared at it. But just as all the other times, he could see nothing else but himself in it.

A tapping brought Harry back to the present. Looking up he saw Hedwig sitting on the windowsill, tapping impatiently on the window.

Harry got up from his bed quickly before his aunt or worse, his uncle, would hear Hedwig as well. He opened up the window to let his owl in.

Hedwig flew over to her perch and held her leg out, showing Harry two letters tied on it. Getting them off, Harry saw that they were from Ron and Hermione. Harry already knew what they would say. His friends wrote him almost every week asking the same questions 'Are you alright?'_ No he was not bloody alright! _'Are your relatives treating you alright?' _The same as always; starving me, ignoring me and locking me up in my room. '_Did you finish your homework already?'. That one would be coming from Hermione. But he always lied, telling them he was alright. His relatives where treating him just fine and he had already finished his work.

In truth, he didn't care anymore. Why would he do his homework ? Unless it would tell him how to defeat a dark lord he didn't give a damn about it.

His aunt and uncle locked him up in his room. The locks where still in place, as was the doggy flap. They would shove some food and water in and that was it. They would only let him out to use the bathroom. At least they would still let Hedwig in his room, but Harry wondered if that was because they didn't hear her or that they were scared someone would come by if he stopped answering their letters. He supposed it was the latter.

Having no desire to answer just yet, Harry set aside the letters. He decided he could read them later. He was tired now, he was always tired lately.

Hedwig hooted softly, nibbling on his finger. Harry gave her an owl treat. Hedwig was always there for him. Most of the time she would go out hunting, sometimes bringing back a mouse for Harry, like she knew was starved by his relatives. He could never get rid of it while she was still there of course, she was sharing her food with him. But once she flew off again he immediately threw the dead animal out his window, preferably in the neighbor's garden. Aunt Petunia would throw a fit if she saw a dead mouse in her perfectly trimmed garden.

It was getting darker outside, which meant before long Harry would be sleeping again. It also meant the nightmares would come soon.

Every night Harry tried to stay awake, but it never worked. He would fall asleep quickly, being as tired as he was.

Giving Hedwig a last stroke on her soft white feathers, Harry went back to his bed. Maybe a little reading would help him stay awake longer.

'_Itty bitty baby Potter, can't even perform a proper spell!' Bellatrix's screech filled the atrium, sending chills down his spine. People began appearing behind her. There he was, Sirius Black. But instead of his usual smiling face, he was looking at Harry without any expression. It hurt Harry more than anything to see his godfather look at him like that, he had gotten so used to the warm smile he usually gave Harry. _

_Next to Sirius stood Cedric. With the same dead face. Both of them kept staring at Harry. Bellatrix Lestrange continued screeching insults at Harry, but Harry couldn'tt hear her. He could only stare at the lifeless faces of Sirius and Cedric. _

_Suddenly Cedric started laughing, not the warm joyful laughter he knew Cedric to have. But a dead hollow sound. _

'_People just keep dying for you, don't they Harry?' _

_Harry started walking towards them, but Bellatrix held him back. Her slim fingers wrapped around his arms. Screaming, Harry tried to break free from her grasp. He felt disgusted with the feeling of her fingers touching him. The fingers of a murderer, a death eater. The witch that had killed his godfather._

_Sirius and Cedric turned around, walking away from him. Harry tried to fight harder, screaming for them to turn around. _

'_SIRIUS! CEDRIC! I'm sorry! Please come back, I'M SORRY!' _

_Bellatrix was just too strong. She continued to laugh at Harry, her arms never moving an inch. _

'SIRIUS STOP! PLEASE COME BACK!'

Bolting upright, Harry realized he was back at number 4 Privet Drive. His hair was coated with sweat. He had a nightmare again, like he would ever be able to sleep without them. He wondered when he had fallen asleep. His DADA book was still lying on his bed, he must have dozed off reading it.

It was starting to get lighter outside. Harry looked at his watch and saw the date, it was August 31st. Professor Dumbledore was coming today. Tomorrow he would be going back to Hogwarts. He loved Hogwarts but he also dreaded the whispering and the stories people would be telling about him. He knew he wasn't doing good, but at least at privet drive people would let him be. Here he could think about the prophesy, about the godfather he had lost. No one would be questioning him about his nightmares because no one cared. Back at Hogwarts his friends would notice, they would want to know about everything that bothered him.

They would also notice how skinny he had gotten over the summer. Harry knew he looked horrible. He hadn't gone outside almost all summer, so his skin tone must be rivaling professor Snape's. Nothing he could do about that now.

His aunt was at his door, he recognized her light footsteps on the stairs. She shoved some dry toast and a glass of water through the dog flap.

'Aunt Petunia, could I use the bathroom please?' No response came. His aunt never responded, but he knew that she would let him out soon. She never refused him going to the bathroom, because he threatened that he would pee through the window if she would not let him out.

Harry heard the locks on his door opening. His aunt opened the door. A disgusted look was on her face as she looked him over.

After he used the bathroom, his aunt was still standing at his door, waiting for him so she could lock him up again. Guessing he should tell her about Dumbledore coming over, he stood in the opening, turning back to his aunt.

'My headmaster is coming over this afternoon. I received a letter from him yesterday.'

Harry saw Petunia's face sink, he knew she was afraid of anything from the magical world. She turned around, glancing at the stairs, afraid the Professor was already standing there. 'What do you mean, Potter? We told you we didn't want to see any of your freak friends in this house again!' She looked furious by the time she ended her sentence. Harry almost smiled at her stupidity, like he would ever invite the professor over himself.

'It's not like I invited him over for tea or something, I didn't ask for this either you know! He says it's important, and that it can not wait until tomorrow.'

Slamming the door in front of him, Petunia pulled Harry towards the bathroom again. Throwing him in it, she slammed the door only to return a few minutes later with clean clothes and a towel. Opening the door, she threw those in as well. 'Well, get a shower! What are you waiting for?'. She slammed the door closed again and heard her leave.

Stunned, Harry stood there for a while, staring at the door his aunt just slammed in his face. He had expected her to scream that no wizards were coming in her house, and Dumbledore would have to wait outside.

He did not expect her to make him take a shower and give him clean clothes. Maybe she knew she couldn't hold Professor Dumbledore outside the house if he wanted in, and she didn't want him to know about the conditions they kept Harry. After all, Professor Dumbledore was the one writing them asking to keep him safe and treat him well when he was brought over to them as a baby.

Deciding it didn't really matter what the reason was for her strange behavior, he started undressing. He winced when he saw his own appearance in the mirror. He got really underweight over the summer. He always turned skinny when staying with the Dursleys, but this summer he didn't really eat anything, he just wasn't hungry. His ribs were clearly visible under his skin. His hipbones where poking out as well as his shoulder blades.

But he was really grateful for Dudley's old clothes; they hid his body pretty well.

After his shower he went back to his room. But before he could close the door, his aunt screamed for him to come down. Rolling his eyes he obeyed, wondering what she wanted now.

When he got downstairs his aunt was sitting at the kitchen table, motioning for him to sit down opposite her. After Harry sat down, he watched his aunt in silence, waiting for her to start talking.

'Have you been writing to your headmaster?'

He didn't expect this question. He just stared at her for a moment, maybe he should scare her a little. If he told her he did write, she would go frantic. Vernon wasn't home so he didn't have to fear _his_ anger. But he just wasn't in the mood, so he might as well tell the truth.

'No I didn't. I don't know why he is coming over. I already told you I don't want this either.'

His aunt looked him in the eye for a few seconds, contemplating if he was telling the truth. Finally she decided he wasn't lying. She got up and walked over to the kitchen, coming back with the plate of toast and the glass of water she brought up earlier.

'Eat. I can't have that man suspecting we don't feed you.' Like one plate of toast would make him less thin.

Harry snorted, but ate none the less. It wouldn't do to annoy his aunt, she looked terrified to say the least. She stood up again, wiping off invisible dust from her clothes. She was nervous, and Harry was enjoying it. He couldn't care less about her, after all these miserable years. They treated him like dirt, like a freak. Anger welled up inside him while watching his aunt fret about. They lock him up, starve him, yell at him or ignore him for days on end. As a kid he didn't know better, but now he saw how other families were, and he knew it wasn't normal to put a child in a cupboard.

His aunt turned around, watching him. He saw she was scared when she looked at him. She should be. Not of Dumbledore, he knew he would just blow it of, think nothing about anything that happened to him. To Dumbledore he was just a tool, a weapon to destroy Voldemort when the time was right.

No, if he wanted anything to change, he would have to do it himself. And he would, but first he wanted to know what was so important that Dumbledore needed to see him.

**A/N Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer. **Harry potter is not mine.

**A/N. **_Chapter 2. I put it on faster as planned to make up for the boringness of chapter 1. This is the conversation with Dumbledore. After this one the actual story will begin. This is just the information needed to start the story of with. _

_I hope you enjoy. And review to tell me how I'm doing and to let me know if this should be slash or not. _

**In darker times – Chapter 2**

Why did Harry always end up in weird situations? He was seated at the kitchen table of number 4 Privet Drive. Opposite him was professor Dumbledore sitting. His professor was lacking the usual twinkle in his eyes. Harry thought he actually looked kind of old. _He is old, stupid. _Harry almost snorted at the thought, but held it in, not wanting to share his thoughts with his headmaster.

The man always knew enough as it was, he didn't need him to know everything. Harry made a mental note to himself to start practicing his occlumency. He would keep his mind privet from now on. It may not stop the nightmares, but it would stop him from having any visions in the future. And it would keep the prying mind of professor Dumbledore out. And the last was definitely worth the trouble.

Harry was still waiting for professor Dumbledore to start speaking. He would most definitely not start this conversation himself. Dumbledore seemed to be studying him. Harry wondered, not for the first time, what was going through the old man's mind right now.

Aunt Petunia was fidgeting in the living room. Dumbledore had asked her for some privacy, but aunt Petunia was reluctant to give it. She was trying hard to listen in on them. But there was not much to listen to because Dumbledore had still not spoken a word to Harry.

Harry was losing his patience, he was getting angrier by the second. _So the old man thinks he can come to privet drive, disturb me, and not even speak to me? _Harry's eyes must have flashed his anger, because Dumbledore was putting on a more guarded expression and lost the eye contact.

Finally the headmaster started to speak. Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

'Harry, my boy, how are you doing?'. Harry almost started laughing about the stupidity of it

all. Dumbledore was asking him if he was alright and it seemed like he really cared about the answer!

'Fine sir.' Harry was not about to give the man the pleasure of a truthful answer. He wanted to know why the professor was here, not talk about unimportant things like his well being.

'If you don't mind me asking, sir, why are you here. We will be seeing each other again tomorrow, so what is so important that it couldn't wait?'

'That is a very good question Harry'. He praised him like al child, Harry wasn't stupid, he knew the headmaster was stalling. He was getting really impatient right now. How could the headmaster talk to him like that, when only a few months ago he almost destroyed the man's office!

'I am here, because of some circumstances concerning you and lord Voldemort.' Dumbledore was looking more tired every minute. 'Voldemort is gaining power. And I am afraid he is gaining followers every day, and it is my believe that you are not safe without any training.' _Well, that much is obvious _'The training you need is not given at Hogwarts. When, and if, you are able to fight Voldemort, I want you to be ready. I do not want you in any situation that can put you in more danger.' _Of course, Dumbledore wanted him trained like the perfect little soldier he was. What a surprise._

'Then where would I be getting that training, sir ?' As long as he wouldn't be getting it from professor Snape he would be fine.

'Do you know the expression "keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer"?' Not waiting for an answer he continued, 'I believe it would help you a lot if you knew more about what you are fighting against. Voldemort is a strong wizard, with a strong personality. I saw him during his Hogwarts years, but I did not look at him as closely as I should have, the same mistake I made with you I am afraid.'

Harry was taken aback at that, was Dumbledore actually trying to tell him he should have paid more attention to him? No, that couldn't be. But still, he was looking at him over his half moon spectacles, waiting for a respond. What was he supposed to respond to this ? Not coming up with anything clever, he just avoided it. 'I've heard about the saying sir, but I don't know what you want to say with it. Can't we get to the point of this?'

Professor Dumbledore sighed, obviously disappointed Harry was still so full of anger.

'I made mistakes Harry. And I have made the same mistake more than once. You have asked me numerous times if you could stay at Hogwarts, and I blew you of. Now I see I shouldn't have send you back here every summer. You are angry with me, which is understandable. I made the same mistakes more than 50 years ago. With an angry boy the same age you are now. He despised me for it, and turned away from everything light.'

'You are talking about Voldemort aren't you?' Harry felt the anger surge trough him, wanted to jump over the table and strangle Dumbledore for comparing him with Voldemort. 'So you are suggesting I am like him? That I will do all the horrible things he did? Because if you are you are even more stupid than I thought!' Harry was breathing heavy by the end, he knew he went out of line by yelling to the professor, but he didn't care. Professor Dumbledore was being an idiot for comparing him to Voldemort, he was nothing like him!

'You are misunderstanding me Harry. I didn't say you are like Voldemort at all. You are a lot alike with Tom Riddle. Tom and Voldemort are two completely different persons. Tom Riddle was human, he was hurting, just like every other person. And he was angry, with me, for ignoring him. For ignoring his feelings. All the wrong that has been done to that boy has made him into what he is now. A bitter, hating being.'

Harry calmed down a little, maybe professor Dumbledore was right. Maybe he did think to simple. Harry had only seen one Voldemort. Dumbledore had known Tom Riddle, he had seen how he was. Surely he couldn't always have been evil ?

'So what is the point of this conversation again ?' Harry was getting impatient, he knew his aunt was too. He heard her scramble about in the living room, waiting for a signal that they where ready and she could come out.

'The point, Harry, is that I wish for you to meet that side of Voldemort. I want you to meet Tom Riddle, so you can discover his weaknesses. I want to send you back in time, to the year 1944 to be precise. You will be taken in as an exchange student. I will give you a letter that you can give to my past self, and I will help you get in the school. I will not be your headmaster there, it will be headmaster Dippet, but I will help you with your cover.'

All kind of thoughts where going trough his head right now. He could go back in time? Why didn't someone do that before ? He could go back in time and save Sirius! Better yet, he could go back and save his parents, he would turn Pettigrew in and his parents and Sirius would still be alive right now!

Sensing Harry's thoughts professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. 'Harry, you can't go back to change your past. Changing anything will be very dangerous. Who knows what you would be changing, you could kill yourself.'

'Than how can you know I won't change anything with Tom Riddle then?' Harry was disappointed, he had to agree with Dumbledore, he was right. Voldemort may as well be a world ruler by now if Harry hadn't stopped him as a baby.

'I know that Harry, because I have already met you once, but I didn't realize it was you until just recently al the pieces fell together.' The twinkle was back by now. 'This has already happened once, and I know you will succeed.'

'So you are telling me, that in what year, 1944 it was?...' Dumbledore confirmed with a nod of his head, 'I was there and you already helped me once, only you didn't know it was me?' This was getting really strange, Harry had to admit this plan was starting to sound really good.

'Yes Harry, I am telling you exactly that.' Professor Dumbledore was looking more hopeful now. 'A boy I didn't know appeared in Hogsmeade wile I was there, Harry Evans his name was. He looked a lot like you. Now I know it was you.'

'How could you have forgotten something like that, sir ?'

'I'm an old man Harry, and it happened more than 50 years ago. With all the memories I have to keep, I tend to forget things that don't seem important at the time.' Dumbledore was tapping his temple, as if he was trying to emphasise his sentence.

'And did you know I was from the future ?'

'Yes I did. I wrote the letter to myself remember ? And I will write that same letter again. Nothing can be changed with this, because it has already be done before. As long as you don't forget not tell anyone anything about the future. Not even to my past self. Do not try to change things Harry, for they are destined to be.' The headmaster was watching him again, searching for anything that might tell him what Harry was thinking.

'Will it be safe ?' Harry was actually starting to like this idea. He didn't have to go back to Hogwarts, at least not the Hogwarts he knew. He didn't have to face his friends just yet, they couldn't remind him of what a fool he had been by going to the ministry. He got to go back in time, where no one knew he was the boy-who-lived, they wouldn't look at him strangely. People would treat him for who he was.

'Yes Harry, it will be safe. Remember that Tom Riddle is not Voldemort yet at that time. It will be safer for you then here. There will be no dark wizard hunting you down.'

'How long do I have to stay there ?'

'As long as you want. I will give you a portkey, it will activate with a special password. The portkey will bring you back to your own time. I will also give you a special journal. Similar to the one Tom Riddle made. I will have a copy of it. Everything you write will appear in my copy, and vice versa. That way we can communicate, I want you to contact me about anything that is bothering you and when you want to come home. If it isn't working, and you think it isn't going to work with time, don't hesitate to come back home. Write to me and I will wait for your arrival back home.'

Harry was stunned. Not for the first time, he was totally speechless. Now he understood why professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to him before start of term. He wouldn't be returning, he wouldn't see his friends. He would be making new friends. He just hoped this would turn out like professor Dumbledore hoped it would.

'Will it work sir ? Did I find out more about Tom Riddle before ?'

'I don't know Harry, we never spoke more than a student and his teacher would. Remember, you where not supposed to know me back then. But I'm positive you will be able to do it Harry.'

Harry thought it over again in his mind. This could work. He would _make_ it work. He would not fail this time.

'I'll do it sir.'

Dumbledore clapped his hands together, the twinkle in his eyes more present then ever this afternoon. 'excellent my boy. I have already arranged for everything. We will just have to get you to Hogsmeade and you will be ready to go.'

Harry frowned, Dumbledore had already set this whole thing up. Of course he knew Harry would do it, he always did everything Dumbledore wanted him to do. This was just one more thing he wanted from Harry. But it didn't matter, Harry wasn't doing this for the headmaster, he was going to do this for himself. Just let the old fool believe he was doing this for him.

Half an hour later he found himself next to professor Dumbledore looking at the shrieking shack. Harry hadn't been able to take all of his belongings with him, some things would give him away immediately if someone would find them. He only took his robes and invisibility cloak with him, as well as the journal professor Dumbledore gave him and some parchment and other supplies. Hedwig would be staying at Hogwarts until he came back. All of his other belongings would be kept safe by Dumbledore. His new school robes would be taken care of, as well as his books and everything else he might need.

'Remember Harry, once you arrive you go straight to Hogsmeade. There you will find me and give me the letter. Don't tell me anything else until I have read it. There are spells on the parchment to prove it is authentic and written by me. And please remember to use your journal in times of need.'

Harry double checked everything again, seeing to it he had forgotten nothing. 'Goodbye sir, and thank you.'

'Be safe Harry, and good luck.'

Harry nodded once, touching the portkey and speaking the password he was whisked away to 1944. He just hoped this would turn out like planned.

_Thank you for rea__ding, and again, please review. Reviews are really supportive and will make me update faster._

**M**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer. **I don't own Harry Potter, or anyone else in this story.

**A/N.** Chapter 3 already. A longer authors note is at the bottom, as well as a respond to the review I got. I'm really happy with every review I get, it is very motivating to know people are reading this. So please leave me a review to let me know you are reading this.

* * *

><p><strong>In Darker Times – Chapter 3<strong>

If he didn't know any better, Harry would have thought he hadn't left. Only professor Dumbledore wasn't there.

He was still on the same spot, looking at the Shrieking Shack. Harry knew it wasn't supposed to be haunted in this time, for Remus Lupin hadn't used it as a hideout yet.

Looking around, he remembered Dumbledore's words to _go straight into Hogsmeade _and find him. So Harry did just that. He just hoped Dumbledore remembered right, and they where supposed to meet in Hogsmeade. He didn't know what he was going to do if he wouldn't find his professor there.

He didn't have to worry though, as soon as he walked into the little magical village he saw professor Dumbledore walking out of the Hogshead, followed by an other man. Great, how was he going to get rid of him. He couldn't risk the man finding out.

Professor Dumbledore starter to walk in the direction of the castle, so Harry had to hurry. Deciding he would think of something, he started to run after the two men. 'Professor Dumbledore! Sir, please wait!' He panted, he wasn't in a very good condition after this summer.

Professor Dumbledore turned around, looking at Harry strangely. Realizing he was waiting for him to speak, Harry straightened up and took out his letter.

'Sir, I'm supposed to give you this. My name is Harry Evans, and it is very important you that read this. Preferably alone if that is possible.'

'Very well, Horace, if you don't mind,' Dumbledore eyed the letter a little sceptic. After a moment he seemed to decide he didn't trust it and cast some spells on it. After he finished his spell work he eyed Harry very strangely for a few seconds.

'This letter is from myself if I am not mistaken, is it not, Mr. Evans?'

'It is sir, please open it, everything will be explained in it.' Harry was getting worried, They stood here, in the middle of Hogsmeade. Everyone could be listening in on them right now.

Sensing Harry's worries, professor Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow him to the castle.

The walk to Hogwarts was silent, making Harry feel very uncomfortable. He had to remember this Dumbledore didn't know him, and he would be suspicious to if he was given a letter from a complete stranger, one he wrote himself.

Once in the office of the future headmaster, the older man started to open up the letter. He was still watching Harry every few seconds.

After a few minutes He put the letter down again. 'Well, Mr. Evans, this letter doesn't seem to be false. The spells on it are most definitely my own and few people know how to send someone to an other time period, I am one of the only one at the moment.'

His eyes started to twinkle after this. 'I believe it is best to see headmaster Dippet, he will get you sorted into a house. He will also make sure everything will be arranged so you can roll right into your lessons. You have to be given a schedule of course. And you need robes in the colours of your house, the house elves will be able to take care of that.'

'Thank you headma, ehm, professor.' This was going to be harder than he thought.

'Term will start tomorrow, so you can start the year of with your new classmates. Well, shall we head over to the headmasters office then ?'

Not waiting for an answer, Dumbledore stood and walked over to the door, holding it open for Harry.

Harry started walking toward the office on his own, not realizing the professor was not following him.

'Mr. Evans.' At that Harry turned around. 'Remember, you are supposed to be an exchange student, you can't go walking around the castle like you have been here before.'

Harry realized his mistake, grateful no one else was around. He waited for professor Dumbledore to catch up before he started walking again.

Harry followed the professor in silence. He noticed Dumbledore looked much younger, but still very similar to the man he knew. His beard was shorter, and less white. But not only his appearance seemed different. There was something else entirely off about him. He seemed more tense, more on guard. Like he didn't trust Harry. He kept glancing at Harry from the corner of his eyes as they walked. It gave Harry a vary unnerved feeling. Was this how people would be treating him in this time ?

Harry wasn't used to people not trusting him, except maybe 4th year, with the triwizard tournament, people thought he was a liar. They thought he had put his own name in the goblet so he could compete. Even his best friend didn't trust him then.

Suddenly Harry realized he wouldn't be seeing Ron an Hermione for a while, and he hadn't even opened op their letters. What if it was something important they wanted to tell them ? He wouldn't find out for a few months at the least!

But before he could think further professor Dumbledore interrupted him by stopping. They had reached the headmasters office. Professor Dumbledore muttered the password, making sure Harry wouldn't hear it. It made him feel even more creeped out than he was already. The professor really didn't trust him, he hadn't imagined it.

It made anger flare up inside of him again. Dumbledore was judging him, when the man didn't even know him. He had proof enough! The letter was from himself, how could he not trust himself?

Pushing the anger away, Harry entered the office. Headmaster Dippet was standing behind his desk. The office was a lot different from how he knew it, less welcoming. Headmaster Dippet seemed to not belong behind that desk. The paintings on the wall where the same, except of course the painting from the current headmaster was missing, for he wasn't dead retired yet in this time.

Professor Dumbledore walked over to the headmaster, taking him aside a little bit, making sure Harry wouldn't be able to overhear them. Harry again felt the snake inside him curl up, ready to strike at the person before him. But he pushed his feelings away, further into his mind, and pretended not to notice. He looked around him, as if he was studying the office, but still tried to overhear the conversation.

Finally the two professors turned around. Headmaster Dippet took his seat behind his desk again, motioning for Harry to take the other seat. Professor Dumbledore didn't sit down, which seemed strange, but Harry paid no attention to it.

Harry noticed headmaster Dippet seemed like a very strict man, he missed the warmth Dumbledore always seemed to radiate. Harry did not feel at ease with him, and already made up his mind to stay away from the older man.

'Harry Evans it was ?' Harry confirmed with a nod, 'My name is Headmaster Dippet. Professor Dumbledore told me you wish to attend Hogwarts as an exchange student, am I correct ?'

'Yes sir.'

'Why don't you tell us something about yourself, so we know where you are from and why you want to attend Hogwarts. It is very uncommon for a student to switch magical schools.'

Harry felt goose bumps covering his arms, he hadn't thought about a story! Off course he had to tell people where he was from! _Think Harry, something, anything they would believe!_

'I was home schooled by my parent. Very secluded, my parents never liked attention and wanted me to live like them as well. But they got stuck, didn't know what else to teach me, so at last they sent me here.'

It was a stupid story, Harry knew they probably wouldn't buy it. Why couldn't he think of something else?

'I have never heard of the name Evans before,' Headmaster Dippet doubted him, he realised. Or was he asking if he was muggleborn ?

Harry knew from the story's he heard, that blood status was a big thing in this time. Especially of course with Tom Riddle, so he couldn't be muggle born, or his whole plan would be ruined.

'Half blood sir, my mother was a muggleborn.' Harry guessed right, judging the slight smile of headmaster Dippet. 'My father's a pureblood, but the Evans name is not commonly known, because they live so secluded, like I told you.' Maybe his story wasn't so stupid after all.

'Of course, Mr Evans, we will have to test your knowledge. But because it is such short notice, we can't have you make a test. How old are you ?'

'Sixteen, sir.' Harry just hoped he would be put in 6th year, the year Tom was in as well.

'Very good, you will be attending 6th year classes then. We will judge you on your skills during the first few weeks, if the teachers decide it is to much for you, you can be put back to 5th year. Of course, being home schooled, there is no shame in that. Not many home schooled witches or wizard stand up to our standards at Hogwarts.'

Harry almost felt offended, if he didn't know he wasn't _really _home schooled.

'I assure you, sir, my parents had high standard for my study's.'

'I'm sure they had, Mr Evans.' He didn't believe him. Harry smirked at the man, daring him to insult him. But to his slight disappointment the headmaster continued speaking, 'You have to be sorted as well, are you aware of the houses we use ?'

'Yes headmaster, my parents have told me about them. Slytherin, Griffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, am I correct ?'

'Yes you are, we have a sorting hat we use for the sorting. It will look inside your soul to put you in one of the houses. Albus, if you could please get it for Mr Evans ?' Harry had forgot about professor Dumbledore. He came out of the corner he vacated to walk over to one of the closets. Opening it up he saw the sorting hat.

Dumbledore walked over to Harry and gave the hat to him, motioning for him to put it on his head. Harry obliged, already knowing what to expect.

'_A, Mr Potter, I see you are not from here. No matter, you have your reasons and secrets just like everyone else in this school. I wonder where to put you, you seem brave but cunning, very loyal to the ones you love. You are a true Griffindor, but have some sly habits that don't seem to fit in there…' _

Harry closed his eyes, willing the hat to put him in Slytherin, he had to end up in Slytherin!

'_Slytherin you ask for ? __You seem to fit in there, and if that is truly you wish…'_

'SLYTHERIN!' The hat bellowed.

Professor Dumbledore took the hat of his head to bring it back over to the closet. Eyeing Harry strangely. Did the man know about the conversation, and Harry asking the hat to put him in Slytherin ? Harry tried to look neutral, it wouldn't do well to show the two professors he was happy about the choice.

'As that is cleared out, I will call your head of house up after we finish, he can escort you over to your dormitories and help you fit in with your class mates and lessons. I will also make sure your school robes and books will be picked up for you by one of the house elves. Do you have any funds we can use for that ?'

'Of course sir, my parents gave me money to pay for everything I may need.' Harry stood, opening up his trunk, and got out a leather pouch. He gave it to the headmaster, not knowing what everything was going to cost in this time, and sat back down.

'The headmaster looked inside the pouch and closed it again, setting it aside. He turned towards professor Dumbledore, 'Albus, can you please floo call Horace and ask him to come over to get Mr. Evans ?'

'Everything will be taken care of for you Mr. Evans, your new clothes, books and school supplies will be brought over to your dorm for you. In the meantime, professor Slughorn will show you around.'

At that moment a middle aged man stepped out of the fireplace, it was the same man Harry had seen talking to professor Dumbledore in Hogsmeade he realised. He seemed like a nice person, with a warm smile on his face. He stepped toward Harry, nodding to headmaster Dippet shortly and stretched out his arm for him to shake.

'Mr. Evans, I am glad to meet you my boy. I heard you were sorted in my house, as a 6th year.'

Harry smiled at the kind gesture, and shook the mans hand. 'Yes sir, it's a pleasure to meet you as well.'

'Well, come with me, I believe you are quite ready here?' Looking over to see headmaster Dippet nodding, Harry stood and followed Professor Slughorn out of the office. Away from the judging eyes of the two other professors.

Out in the hallway, professor Slughorn started to walk in a brisk pace towards the direction of the main hall. 'So Mr. Evans, tell me about yourself, where are you from and who are your parents ?'

His heritage again seemed like a big deal here. 'I'm from near London, my father is a pureblood, my mother muggleborn. They live very secluded, so that is why no one knows our name. I was home schooled by them up until now.'

This seemed to please professor Slughorn. 'Well, I'm sure we can expect great things from you. We have a point system, you are rewarded house points for everything good you do, and point are taken if you do something bad. At the end of the year the house with most point wins, so make me proud Harry.' He winked at Harry.

Harry laughed at that, remembering professor Snape, his snarky potions professor was so totally different from this Slytherin head of house. Snape would never wink at him, not even if he was a Slytherin.

'This is the great hall Harry, all meals are here. Tomorrow this hall will be full of students. There are four long tables as you can see. The banners above them show which table belongs to which house.' Harry pretended to be amazed, seeing the great hall for the first time.

'The ceiling is enchanted to show the weather outside at all times. Amazing isn't it ?' Professor Slughorn was looking up at the ceiling with an awed look. Harry understood, even after 5 years, he was still amazed every time he looked at the ceiling himself.

'Well, I'll show you to your dormitories. I'll ask a classmate to show you around the first few days you are here. The castle is to big to show you now.'

Harry was glad by the time he was in the dorm. He missed the Gryffindor colours, they where a lot warmer than in here. The green and silver felt cold to Harry, unwelcoming. The whole dorm was empty, but Harry was grateful to the house elf that had lit the fire for him. At least the fire made it a bit warmer. There were no windows in the dungeons, and there seemed to be a chill always present in here. Harry didn't know if that was because the fire wasn't there for very long, but he knew the potions classroom was always a little chilly as well.

Harry didn't have a lot to unpack, and the things he had brought with him weren't to be unpacked. People weren't supposed to know he owned a invisibility cloak. His trunk was charmed to keep his secrets, it could only be opened by him. He did unpack some clothes, putting it in the drawer mend for him.

While he was unpacking, his journal gave of a golden glow. Picking it up, Harry wondered why professor Dumbledore would be writing to him about so soon. Opening it up, he saw the neat handwriting of his professor appearing on the paper.

_Harry, has everything gone according to plan ? _

Picking up a quill and a bottle of ink, Harry started writing a reply.

_Sir, I'm in the Slytherin dorm right now. Everything went well, except professor Dippet and yourself don't seem to trust me._

After a few second wait a new reply started forming.

_That is understandable, the war with Grindewald has just ended. You know from experience a stranger coming over to you, who is obviously keeping secrets, is bound to cause trouble. _

That seemed logical, he hadn't realised Grindewald had just been defeated.

_Alright sir, that seems to be logical. I understand. I'm just going to explore the common room further then, if there is nothing else you wanted to discuss ?_

_No Harry, that was all I wanted to know. Good luck, my boy, and don't hesitate to contact me with any further questions you might have. _

_I will sir, goodnight._

With that, Harry closes the journal again, putting it back in his trunk. He lied down on his bed, wondering if tomorrow would be any easier, but he supposed not. The Slytherins would not trust him any easier, he just hoped they wouldn't be to difficult to handle.

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><p><strong>AN. **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next chapter Harry will be meeting his new classmates.

I'm trying to follow the timeline from cannon, not inserting any OOC, maybe a teacher or something, but no main character. If I made mistakes with the timeline, or with any names, please mention them in a review, so I can change it. I tried to find out if the shrieking shack was already build in 1944 but couldn't find out anything, so I just put it in.

Hope you enjoyed, please leave me a review.

**Strawhat Vampira. **What do you mean with something more ? Maybe I could work on that ;) I agree with you about the intimate part, I think I might not make this slash, but they will definitely get a close bond. Thank you for your review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer. **Not mine, won't be mine ever.

**A/N. **Longer authors note at the bottom. Chapter 4 for you already. Finally Harry gets to meet Tom. I hope you like it, please read the bottom note, and leave a review. I love to know how you think about this story so far.

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><p><strong>In Darker Times – Chapter 4<strong>

Harry was standing before the doors of the great hall. Waiting for them to open so he could walk in. He was feeling more nervous with every passing minute. All the other students where already inside, the first years where being sorted into their new houses. After that, headmaster Dippet would introduce him, and Harry would enter the hall. Harry thought it was much to dramatic for his taste, but the headmaster insisted.

Why had Harry agreed to do this ? Again he was doing something for Dumbledore he didn't really want. Harry thought it was going to be a nice change, a little rest and peace because no one knew who he was. But he had started to doubt his decision when he noticed how distrustful headmaster Dippet and professor Dumbledore where of him. What if all the students where like that as well, he would be having a hard time fitting in. He knew he could return home if he wanted to, but he would never let Dumbledore know he failed.

At last, the doors of the great hall opened, every head was turned his way. People where whispering about him, some girls where giggling. But when he looked at them they quickly turned their heads away. Harry wondered why girls would giggle, it wasn't like he was very good looking. He was a to thin boy with messy hair and glasses, what was there to like ?

He almost walked over to the Griffindor table, but realising his mistake quickly turned towards the Slytherins. Sitting down next to a boy with dirty blonde hair, the one who seemed to be nice. This boy was smiling at him, the rest looked at him strangely, again they where judging him. Harry pretended not to notice, and started introducing himself.

'Hi, my name's Harry Evans, you're sixth years as well right ?'

'Humphrey Avery.' The blonde shook his hand. He seemed not to be that bad. A bit quiet maybe.

'Paschal Nott.' Dark hair, dark eyes. This boy seemed nervous, not very brave. Harry noted how his eyes kept shooting around the hall. Maybe he was afraid of something, Harry decided to keep an eye on him.

'Edmond Lestrange.' Harry felt some of his anger coming back on the surface at the name. But put it back down, this was not the same Lestrange, and he wouldn't be judging before he knew any of them. And Edmond didn't seem to be a danger, his eyes where sparkling, maybe even mischievous. After he shook Harry's hand, he turned around to a girl al little further down the table and winked at her. The girl giggled and turned away immediately her face red.

'Vincent Rosier.' He was a tall boy, tanned. He wasn't very good looking but had an air around him that pulled people to him. Harry had already noticed some students looking at him, but Vincent didn't pay them any attention.

Next to Vincent sat the boy he came here for. Tom. It was evident this was the leader of their little group. A shield of arrogance around him. He kept a distance from his dorm mates. 'Tom Riddle.' Tom shook his hand, never loosing eye contact with Harry. Harry wondered if Tom was already as good at legilimency as the Tom he knew. Harry hoped he wasn't, or he would already know Harry wasn't who he pretended to be.

They started eating, scooping there plates full of different foods. The meal was a quiet one. Harry was observing the other boys, trying not to stare at Tom. He was so close, he could pull out his wand and harm the boy, and everything would be different. His parents would still be alive, _Sirius_, he would still be alive as well. But he couldn't do that, he might change to much.

It was during the deserts that Tom spoke up. The four other boys went quiet, listening to what he might have to say. 'Tell us something about yourself Harry, where are you from and who are your parents.'

Again the blood thing!

'Well, I'm from near London. My parents have home schooled me up until now. They didn't know anything else to teach me so I wanted to go here. My father is a pureblood and my mother muggleborn. They live very secluded, keep to themselves a lot.'

Tom seemed to believe him. That was good, Harry didn't want to defend his story.

'So your half blood then.' Tom said more to himself than anyone else. Harry nodded, though Tom didn't need it to be confirmed. It looked like he had the information he needed, because he stood and started to walk out of the hall.

Humphrey saw Harry's confusion. 'Don't mind Tom, he's always like that. Walking of alone and stuff, want to be alone a lot.'

Harry nodded, pretending not to care. But inside he didn't like this one bit, it made his job a lot more difficult. If Tom wanted to be alone, and didn't care about being social, Harry would never find out about any weaknesses he might have.

'So, Harry, are you sleeping in our dorms, because we don't have any more beds in there you know.' Paschal was not only easily scared, but also a little bit stupid it seemed. But before Harry could answer Humphrey spoke up.

'Of course he will stupid! This is Hogwarts remember, an extra bed will be put in with us when someone else joins in.' Rolling his eyes, Humphrey stood up.

'Coming with me Harry ? I can show you around the common room, introduce you to some more students.'

'Sure, thanks.' Harry started to walk after Humphrey.

'Paschal is a nice guy, but not really smart. He's easily scared, so people prank him a lot. Also got home sickness in the beginning of every year. You'll notice tonight, keeps us all awake the first few nights snivelling.'

'What about Vincent, he isn't speaking much.'

'Yes, Vincent thinks he's some special race or something. Being pureblood gives him status he said. Stupid of course, like a muggleborn has less magic or something. You don't believe in that crap do you ?' Humphrey had stopped walking, realising he didn't know how Harry thought about blood status.

'No, I don't Humphrey. My mother is muggleborn remember ?'

Humphrey started walking again, going down some stairs to enter the dungeons.

'Yes, I forgot about that.' Is that why your parents keep secluded ?

'I don't know, I never thought about that. But maybe it is, I do know my dad's family doesn't speak to him anymore because he married my mom. Pretty sad, like he his any less a person or something.' Lying about this was pretty easy, he had heard about the pureblood thing from Sirius so he knew what he was talking about.

'Yes that happens a lot. But we should better not talk about this around others Harry. Especially around our dorm mates. Vincent and Tom are really harsh, they will probably give you a speech about blood purity and how important it is.' Humphrey snorted.

They entered the common room. There weren't many students there. Harry noticed Tom wasn't here, and wondered if the boy was already in the dorms.

Humphrey sat down in a chair in front of the fire, and motioned for Harry to take a seat as well. 'It's nice having you around Harry, I used to be really good friends with Tom, but since he got so secluded I'm alone most of the time. Paschal sits with me mostly, but he's not very good company, always complaining about lessons and studying to keep up.'

Harry nodded, thinking about Neville. He struggled to keep up as well.

'What about Edmond and Vincent ?'

Humphrey rolled his eyes. 'Vincent is to arrogant to sit in the common room, and Edmond is always sitting with the girls, or with Vincent. I don't know where Vincent en Edmond go, I don't really care either.'

Harry understood, Vincent didn't seem like good company to keep.

'What classes are you taking Harry ?'

'I don't know, the headmaster hasn't asked me. He told me I would attend them, and the teachers would judge if I will be able to keep up. They don't have high standards about home schooled students. So I will probably have a full schedule, and drop some of them later on.'

The rest of the night, Humphrey would introduce Harry to some other students. Important people he should know according to Humphrey. He told Harry about some people he should keep as friends, having them as enemies wouldn't do any good he had said.

Some students would come over by themselves, girls mostly, to introduce to Harry. Most of the younger students weren't introduced, Harry would probably never need to know them anyway.

When they went to their dorm, they found out where Tom had been. He was sitting on his bed, with a large book and his wand in hand. He glanced up when they entered. Harry noticed his trunk was moved, but kept his mouth shut. It would do him no good to start a fight with Tom this early on. The boy couldn't get in his trunk anyway. But Harry felt something inside him twist. Tom didn't trust him, and he had to change that quickly. If Tom felt the need to go through his stuff he was definitely curious about him. So maybe Harry could use that to his benefit.

'Studying already ?' Harry tried to joke, but heard the anger in his own voice. Tom must have heard as well, for he snapped his head up to watch Harry again.

'You can never know to much Harry, who knows when you need it. And you know everything about charms, especially locking charms, wouldn't you Harry ?'

So Tom didn't want to keep it a secret that he had wanted to sneak trough his stuff.

'Yes I do Tom, more than you know about unlocking charms.'

'You can't keep secrets here at Hogwarts Harry, you're not at home anymore.'

Tom's eyes where shooting fire his way, and Harry felt chills run down his spine. He saw that this person would turn into Voldemort. The anger in those eyes scared him. But this Tom was still human, wasn't he ? He was only sixteen years old, he couldn't be that snake already. It made Harry even more determined to find out more about this boy, he loved a challenge.

'Everyone seems to keep secrets around here. A few more won't hurt anyone. You are keeping that book of yours a secret, changed the cover didn't you ? Doesn't matter, I know that wand wave you made last. That spell isn't written in a 5th year defence against the dark arts book.'

Tom's smirk fell of his face at that statement. And Harry knew a victory when he saw one. He put on a smile, he had one this round, but there would sure be a lot to come.

'It doesn't matter to me what your studying Tom. I don't judge people by simple things like this. My point is, everyone has secrets, you can try to figure them out the hard way, or you could just take your time getting to know me. You might find out about them that way, and you wouldn't be making enemies like that. Maybe the other boys are afraid to put you back in line, but I'm not afraid Tom. I won't tolerate you invading my privacy, so keep away from my stuff next time.'

It was a big risk, Harry knew. He could have easily ruined his chances at getting to know Tom. He knew the boy was a leader, and wanted his so called 'friends' to follow him around like early dead eaters. But he wasn't going to do that, he would never succeed like that. Humphrey already told enough for Harry to find out Tom never told them anything, so he wouldn't tell Harry either if he acted like that.

Tom looked at him for a while. Harry never lost eye contact, he tried to keep his eyes neutral, not showing Tom anything. Finally Tom got a smirk on his face.

'You seem to be a true Slytherin, Harry. I like that. Most people are to afraid to stand up for themselves, but not you. You could prove to be good company.'

Harry's jaw almost dropped at that. The _arrogance _to think someone would be unworthy of Tom's company. But Harry felt satisfied. He had picked Tom's curiosity, now he only had to make sure to keep it.

Harry noticed Humphrey letting out a relieved sigh. Glancing over to the other boy, he saw him looking at him with awe. _Great,_ _someone looking up to me again. _

Harry walked over to his own bed. Earlier that day he had found all his school supplied on there, including his robes and books. He had left his history book out on the bed, intending to find out more about the now recent history. If someone asked him about Grindewald he would have to know the answers, because he was supposed to have lived during that war.

He was going to make this work. Not for Dumbledore, but for himself. He liked a challenge, and Tom Riddle was definitely a challenge. He would get to know him, find out everything about him, all of his weaknesses and strengths. Harry would find out how to destroy him, return home and do just that.

But Harry knew it was a difficult task. Tom had already started to go dark, he had build a wall around himself, but there had to be some weak spots in it, for he was still human. And Harry had to use that weak spots to break that wall down so he could see the real Tom, not he monster he was going to be.

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><p><strong>AN. **This chapter was fun to write. Tom is proving to be a real challenge. I don't want to make him to easy. What I found out from the books, he is a very secluded person and already pretty dark as a child. I want to keep him canon, but we don't know a lot about him so can make things up.

About the other four boys. I couldn't find out about their names, but I did out about them being in Tom's year and being Tom's future Death Eaters. The first names I made up, they aren't mentioned anywhere. Except for Vincent's name, the rest have the first name from the actors who played them in the movie (in the pensieve memory from Slughorn.) The actor playing Rosier wasn't mentioned.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and again, please leave a review. They are greatly appreciated.

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><p><strong>Marwana. <strong>Thank you for mentioning that about the shack. Thank you for your review.

**Strawhat Vampira. **Here is Tom, I hope you like how I wrote him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer. **Harry Potter is not mine. Tom Riddle isn't mine either, if he was, I would be a very happy girl and I wouldn't complain about anything in life ever again.

**A/N. **More at the bottom. Thank you for being at chapter 5, I appreciate you reading my story. Please leave me a review after reading, it won't take long. I love to read them, even if it's short. I'm constantly checking my story stats, to see how many people are reading this story. Tank you to the people that reviewed, and also to the people who put me on alert and even on their favourite list, I never thought I would ever be on someone's favourite list (don't care how many story's are on that list, I still feel honoured!).

Well, on with the story, it's what you're here for.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>In Darker Times – Chapter 5<strong>

The next morning, Harry found himself sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast. Humphrey sat next to him, and Tom on his other side. It worried Harry, why would Tom want to sit so close to him after their argument last night ? The day started with transfigurations, from professor Dumbledore. Humphrey didn't make it in NEWT transfigurations, Paschal didn't make it either. So it would be Harry, Vincent, Edmond and Tom.

After breakfast the four of them started walking towards the transfiguration class room. Saying goodbye to Humphrey and Paschal, who would be going to divination.

'Such an useless class, divinations.' Tom said to Harry.

Harry nodded, agreeing with Tom on that. He didn't know what teacher was teaching the class in this time, but he supposed it was still pretty much the same.

'What classes are you in, Tom ?' Harry wanted to be in a lot of classes Tom was in, the more time he spend around him the better.

'all of them, except for divinations and astronomy.'

'Playing quiditch ?' Harry had already thought about trying to get on the team here. He missed playing quiditch, especially after his ban from last year.

'No, I used to though. You ?'

'I love to fly, used to play seeker back home.' Harry cursed himself, he slipped up, already. He wasn't supposed to play on a team, being home schooled.

Tom noticed it to, for he stopped walking and turned around to face Harry. They where in a deserted hallway, only a few hallways from the classroom they where mend to go.

'How can you play when you're the only student, Harry ?' _Think Harry, think of something!_

'Played with my dad, he bought a practice snitch for me when I was younger.'

Tom didn't buy it, he saw the suspicion in his eyes. But he seemed to let it go for now and started walking again.

During the class, Tom sat next to Harry. It seemed like Tom wanted to know more about Harry, as Harry wanted to know more about Tom. He could use this to his advantage, but he had to be more careful.

Professor Dumbledore entered the classroom. Handing out bright yellow canaries.

'Students, welcome to 6th year transfiguration. All of you passed your OWL's or you wouldn't be in this class.' He eyed Harry for a few second, he knew Harry had passed his OWL's but no one else knew. 'That means that the level is higher this year. Next year you will all be going up for your NEWTS. So I expect only the best from you. We are going to practice transfiguring living beings. I want you to treat them with respect, and not harm them in any way. I want you to open your books to page 82, there you will find a description of what you are supposed to do. If you do not understand, ask me. The challenge for you all is to succeed in transfiguring the canary to a purple cushion. Not only is it difficult because it is a living animal, but also because you have to change it's colour. Any questions so far ?'

No one raised their hands, so Dumbledore signalled for everyone to watch how he transfigured his canary into a perfect square fluffy pillow. After that he told the students to start.

This was stupid, Harry had already done this before. In his own time he was way ahead of the students here.

With a flick of his wand, Harry had turned his canary into the same fluffy pillow.

Tom noticed Harry's ease. And did the same thing, only he made the pillow purple, with golden polka dots and golden rimming around the edge. _Show off._

After professor Dumbledore walked passed and gave them both a compliment, Tom turned his canary back. Harry did the same, letting it fly back to his cage. Tom didn't let the canary move away, aiming his wand at it with an evil grin.

Harry saw it and elbowed Tom. 'Tom, what're you doing ?' Harry whispered harshly.

'You know about the spell you saw me practicing last night ? The dark one ?'

Harry had been bluffing, he didn't know what spell it was, but he did know it wasn't a spell thought at Hogwarts in 5th year, or he would have recognised. And by the way Tom was hiding the book he guessed it was a dark spell.

'Yes, are you planning to test it ? Right under Dumbledore's nose ?'

'Yeah, why not ? Scared of a little detention ? I thought you where a Slytherin, Harry. You disappoint me. And by the way, he won't notice, he never does.'

That didn't sound like the Dumbledore he knew. He always knew everything that happened in the school, but maybe that was because he wasn't headmaster here yet. Maybe the headmaster had some tricks to find out about the things happening in the school, like the marauders map or something. Or maybe he didn't know because he didn't pay attention.

'Won't notice or doesn't care ?' Harry wanted to know, Tom seemed to know a lot about how things worked.

'Both, he doesn't notice mostly, and when he does he doesn't usually care. Cursed a student last year, only got 20 points taken and 2 weeks detention. No big deal.'

Harry didn't like that thought, Tom seemed to be having free reign in the school.

'I found out about some pretty nasty curses. Last time I tried one people found out, but I practiced it enough I think. Already got two of them down, this is the last one.' Harry looked horrified, what was Tom going to do to the bird ? Seeing Harry's look Tom continued. 'Don't worry, it won't hurt it and no one will notice.'

Tom aimed his wand, made the movement Harry saw earlier and cast '_Imperio_' on the non suspecting bird. Harry watched how Tom made the bird jump around, singing a song and flap his wings, not able to resist. Tom had a satisfied smirk on his face making the bird do these things.

'You do know you could end up in Azkaban for this right ? They aren't called unforgivable without reason.'

Tom rolled his eyes and removed the curse, letting his bird fly of as well.

'Such a bore Harry. I really thought you where different then the rest. But where did you find out about the unforgivables anyway, no one seems to know anything about their existence.'

'I have seen them being cast Tom, saw people die or go crazy under them.'

Tom didn't look horrified in the least, he even seemed fascinated by what Harry had said.

'Ever tried one for yourself ?'

Harry remembered the night at the ministry, how he had tried to cast the Cruciates curse on Bellatrix, and failed. Tom seemed to take his silence as an answer for he smirked.

'You failed, didn't you ? Which one ?'

'Cruciates.' Harry didn't like the look on Tom's face at all.

'I could teach you Harry, it's not that hard once you felt the power of control.'

'No Tom, I don't want you teaching me! They're horrible curses mend to hurt or kill. And I have no intention of doing that to any living being.' Harry whispered harshly. After that, they waited for the lesson to end in silence. Tom occasionally glancing over to Harry.

'I'm sorry for snapping Tom. But I really did see enough of those curses, and I still have nightmares about what they have done. It's just difficult to see them being cast. And I'm ashamed I tried to cast one myself.'

After that, Dumbledore signalled the class being over. Tom left the classroom, giving one last thoughtful glance Harry's way. Harry left on his own, seeing Humphrey waiting for him outside. They had potions next and Harry was glad he could sit next to his new friend, a friend not keen on finding out about the unforgivables.

This was going to be really hard, Harry had to be more careful about his opinions. Tom would not change him mind about this, and Harry should play along more, or Tom would keep him away from him. If that happened Harry would never be able to get to know him better.

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventful. Harry spend most of his time with Humphrey, talking about other students, by the end of the day Harry knew a lot more about his classmates, but Humphrey hadn't been talking about Tom, and asking about him would make Humphrey suspicious. So Harry kept quiet mostly, just listening, not really interested.

That night, Harry returned to his dorm early. He suspected no one to be there yet, so he hoped he could talk to Dumbledore and ask him about the things that had happened that day. But when he entered the dorm, Tom was sitting on his bed, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. He didn't even notice Harry entering.

Harry sat on his bed, perhaps the journal wasn't such a good idea with Tom sitting there. Harry cleared his throat, hoping to catch Tom's attention. It worked, Tom looked startled.

'Didn't hear you come in Harry. What do you want ?'

'Nothing, just wanted to let you now I was here, in case you where practicing some dark arts again.' Harry tried to make some humour sound trough in his voice, hoping Tom would catch it as a joke.

He did, a tiny smile graced his face. Harry couldn't imagine why Tom Riddle would ever want to end up with the snake face he had as Lord Voldemort. He was a handsome boy, Voldemort was not handsome, and Harry could see nothing from that monster in Tom's face.

'I hope your not angry with me about me snapping at you in class this afternoon.'

Tom shrugged, 'No Harry, I'm not angry.'

'Tom, what I meant to ask you, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But it looked as if you enjoyed the bird's suffering. Did you ?'

Tom looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking Harry's question over. After that he looked down at his hands, Harry thought he looked like the sixteen year old boy he was at that gesture and he wondered if Tom was going to answer him.

'I don't know Harry. That wasn't a really big deal you know. The bird wasn't suffering, he was just doing the things I wanted him to, and I didn't make him do any painful things.'

'Suffering isn't always physically, you know that right ?' Harry really wondered if Tom knew that, for his answer seemed like he didn't.

'I think the Cruciatus curse is suffering, the Imperius is pretty harmless.'

'I would take the Cruciatus curse over the Imperius any time.'

Tom looked startled at that. 'Why Harry, you said you saw them, how could you want that kind of pain ?'

'The Cruciates only harms the body, but it can never break you spirit, unless used to long of course. But if you would put me under the Imperius curse, and made me do a lot of horrible things, I would never be the same person again. It would always feel to me like I was the one who did those things.'

'Have you felt that curse before ?' Tom didn't believe him. He couldn't understand.

'Yes, I have more than once.' Harry looked at the pillow on his bed, remembering the pain. Both boys where silent after that, lost in their own thoughts. How could Harry ever convince Tom that the curses he was using where just wrong ? Tom seemed so far into it already.

Suddenly Harry remembered the thing Tom had said about already being able to cast two of the unforgivables. That mend he had already used the killing curse on someone!

'Have you killed anyone Tom ? You told me you where able to perform the curse. Did you do it on an animal or on a person ?'

Tom looked up at Harry. Harry noticed Tom was always thinking everything through in his mind before answering.

'Yes I have performed it.' Tom left it at that, standing up from his bed and walking out of the dorm.

That was all the answer Harry needed to know Tom had already murdered a person. Maybe even more then one. It terrified Harry, Tom was sixteen, and already he had killed. He came down to this time to meet Tom Riddle, and hoped to find out more about the boy. But he realised right then that it might have been to late already. What had Tom been through in his life that he was able to murder a human being ?

Harry let himself fall back on his bed. Staring up at the ceiling. He felt so lonely right now. He missed Ron and Hermione more than ever at the moment. They would talk some sense in him, make him use the portkey and come back home. Harry knew this was useless, Tom couldn't be changed anymore. But a little voice in the back of his mind told him he had to try, that he couldn't just turn his back on the boy. He could always give up later, but not after just one day.

Tom had stirred emotions in Harry that he had tried to put down when he came here. The night at the ministry haunted him, he heard Bellatrix' taunting voice, laughing at _itty, bitty, baby potter_ for not being able to curse her. His godfather, Harry would never see him again, all the promises of a new home away from the Dursley's would never come true now. He was alone in this world.

The portkey would bring him back to his own time, but not his home. Harry had no home. Hogwarts would never be his home anymore after he found out about all the secrets Dumbledore had kept from him. He could only do one more thing, rid the world of Voldemort. After that he could go his own way, start to live his life. But to do that, he had to know how. And Harry doubted he would find any weaknesses from Tom. He had to learn magic, more destructive spells than a simple disarming spell. He had to learn how to kill, and Tom had offered to help him with the unforgivables, maybe he also wanted to help him with other spells. Maybe Tom could teach Harry how to destroy his future self.

With that thought in mind, Harry drifted of to a very restless night. Planning to ask Tom first thing in the morning, hoping the other boy would agree. Harry knew he needed all the training he could get for his last battle with Voldemort.

* * *

><p><strong>AN. **So, chapter 5. I tried to make Tom dark, but I also wanted to show he still has a human side. He has not turned into Voldemort yet, but he is well on his way.

I hoped you liked this chapter. And I hope you review to let me know how you like the story so far. I try to answer some reviews via PM so I won't be answering them in the A/N anymore. That is because I don't think everyone is interested in answers they don't understand because they don't know the question.

Thanks for reading.

**M**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer. **Still not mine.

**A/N. **This chapter has been checked over by my new beta Lelouche-21. Thank you again for the help.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think.

**In Darker Times – Chapter 6**

_Harry was standing in the middle of a circular room surrounded with stone stairs. At the centre of the room, where Harry stood, was an arch with a veil draped in the middle. It was then that Harry recognised where he was. The Ministry of Magic._

_He was alone. There was not a sound except for his own breathing. He was breathing fast, as if he had been running before. Harry turned around towards the veil. He heard voices whispering to him. He stepped closer trying to hear them. He couldn't make out any words. As he walked closer, the voices were starting to sound familiar. _

_Harry stopped only a few steps before the veil. He knew that voice, but it sounded angry. It had never been angry at Harry before._

'_Come in here Harry. Step through the veil.'_

_Harry felt himself stepping closer, not able to stop his feet from moving. _

'_That's right! It's your fault Harry. You killed us all, so you don't deserve to stand there! Walk through and join us!' _

_Harry struggled to stop his body. He couldn't step through the veil! He would die! But his body never stopped, and the veil was coming awfully close._

_The moment he touched the veil, he felt himself being sucked in. This was it. He couldn't stop it. Harry was going to die. After he was sucked in, he saw the faces of everyone that had died because of him. His godfather had been the one talking; he was looking at Harry with fury in his eyes. His parents were there. But they weren't wearing the loving faces Harry had seen in the pictures he had of them. They were disappointed._

_Harry couldn't bear to look at them. It hurt him more than anything. He felt tears spill from his eyes, al he had ever wanted was for his parents to be proud of him. But he had disappointed them._

_Cedric was there as well. The boy didn't even look at him. He was staring off at something behind him. Harry turned around to see what Cedric was staring at, but there was nothing. Just emptiness. _

'_Cedric! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to die! I didn't mean for anyone to die! Mom, Dad, please forgive me! I miss you so much, Sirius!' _

_Harry was screaming at them to forgive him. They were right, it was his fault. If he wasn't alive they never would have died. They died protecting him, because he was too weak to defend himself. _

_The bodies of his parents, Sirius, and Cedric began walking away from him. Harry tried to run after them but his body wouldn't move._

'_Stop! Come back! Please! PLEASE, I'M SO SORRY!' _

'Harry. HARRY! Wake up!'

Someone was shaking him, yelling at him. Harry shot up in his bed. He realised he was in the Slytherin dorm, again. It was all a dream. He suddenly felt nauseous. Dashing towards the bathroom, he threw everything up that was in his stomach. After he emptied everything he had ate the night before, he noticed his dorm mates standing in the doorway. They looked worried.

Humphrey took a step forward, as if he was afraid Harry would collapse.

'Are you alright, Harry ? That must have been a horrible dream, you were screaming bloody murder!'

Humphrey had gotten him a glass of water, which Harry accepted gratefully. He stood up from the cold bathroom floor, stepping back into the bedroom and sitting down heavily on his bed. His dream felt so real; the disappointed stares his parents had given him was still vivid in his mind. He felt tears coming up again, but he pushed them away. He wasn't going to cry in front of anyone, let alone Tom Riddle and his friends.

Humphrey sat down next to Harry, keeping a little distance between them. Vincent and Edmond sat down on their own beds. Tom was leaning against the wall with a thoughtful look. Harry felt unnerved by it, but decided to ignore it.

'What was your dream about Harry? It helps to talk about it.'

'No, Humphrey, I don't want to talk about it.' Harry felt tired. He just wanted to lie down and to be left alone.

'Who are Cedric and Sirius ? You were screaming at them that you where sorry. And to your parents, as well.'

'He said he doesn't want to talk about it Humphrey, so stop bothering him.' Harry felt grateful towards Tom. But he saw the look in his eyes; Tom was going to ask about this another time. And Harry didn't know if he was ready to tell him yet.

After a moment of silence, waiting to see if Harry was really okay, the boys went back to their beds. Harry waited for them to settle down before pulling the curtains around his bed, putting a silencing charm on them. He felt stupid for not thinking about that before; it would spare him the questions later. He felt his eyelids drooping closed. He was so tired after the nightmare, as if he had been running around the school for hours. He fell asleep, hoping he wouldn't be having another nightmare tonight.

The next morning, Harry still felt tired. The other boys were already getting dressed or leaving the dorm room. Harry noticed Humphrey sitting on his bed, waiting for Harry to get up.

'How do you feel, Harry ?'

'Like I ran marathon last night.' He yawned.

'You should hurry, though. Breakfast will be served in ten minutes. We've got double potions right after that.'

'Sure, I'll get up. Just give me a minute, okay ?'

'Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs.' Humphrey gave him one more worried look and left to go downstairs.

Harry decided he wouldn't forget his silencing spell ever again. He would have to answer too many questions to his dorm mates if they heard more. This was a relatively safe dream; he had only dreamt about his parents, Sirius and Cedric. It would be more complicated if he would be dreaming about the prophecy or even Voldemort himself. Harry didn't know if Tom had already thought up the name Voldemort, but Harry definitely didn't want to take the risk. Tom was smart, he already doubted Harry, and it wouldn't help to feed the boy more reasons to doubt him.

At breakfast, everyone was awfully quiet. The boys kept shooting glances at him, Humphrey's and Paschal's were worried. Harry knew they wanted some answers, he just wondered who was going to ask first. He didn't know what he would tell them, but he couldn't keep this a secret. He had screamed them awake. If one of them had dreamed like that, Harry would want to know as well.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Edmond spoke up.

'Why were you having a nightmare about your parents, Harry ? And who where the other persons ?'

Harry sighed and looked up at Edmond, taking a few seconds to think about his answer.

'My parents died when I was a baby. They were murdered. Sirius was my godfather, and Cedric was sort of a friend, I guess.'

'I thought you lived with your parents?' It was Tom this time. He looked at Harry curiously.

'I didn't tell you, because I don't like talking about it, and I don't want people pitying me.'

'What about your godfather and friend? They died to ?'

'Yes.' He was not going to tell them how they died. They would want to know who did it.

The boys seemed to pick up on that, for they continued eating they're breakfast. Although they kept shooting him glances as if he was going to break down at any minute.

After a few more minutes of the boys watching him, Harry got tired of it and stood up. He started walking out of the great hall when he heard someone shouting at him to wait. Turning around, he saw Edmond catching up to him. Harry sighed. He really wanted to be alone right now.

'Harry, why the hurry mate ?' Edmond clapped him on the back, starting to lead Harry out of the great hall. Harry rolled his eyes, walking towards the entrance doors of the castle. He needed some fresh air before being locked up in classes all day.

'I need some air.' Edmond seemed satisfied with the answer, for he smiled knowingly at Harry.

'Yeah, I know what you mean. The guys can be pretty tiring sometimes. You shouldn't blame them though; they're only worried about you. We don't know all that much about your past, and it is pretty obvious you are keeping some major secrets from us.'

Harry sighed, 'I know, Edmond. There are some things I just can't tell you. Maybe sometime later, but not right now. A lot of things happened in a short time; I just need a break. I thought coming here would give me some time to cope, but everyone just keeps sticking their noses into my life.' Harry didn't mean to snap, but he was already so tired of everybody wanting to know everything about him.

'I understand, and I'm sure everyone else will understand as well if you explain. But think about it. If someone would show up in your life, keeping secrets. And last night was pretty scary, Harry; that nightmare was not nothing. We are just worried about you.' Edmond had stopped walking and stood to face Harry. He was waiting for an answer. Harry knew Edmond wasn't lying, but he knew not everyone was so truthful. He knew Vincent and Tom weren't really worried; they just wanted to find out about Harry.

But Edmund was right. If he thought about it, he would definitely be worried if someone new would be in their dorm having secrets and nightmares like this. He would try to find out about them as well.

'Alright, Edmond, I can tell you some things, but not everything. You have to understand that some things I have to keep to myself.' Edmond nodded. Harry noted that Edmund was really trying to be understanding. He had never guessed Edmond could be that way.

'You don't have to tell me anything, Harry, if you don't want to.'

'No, you're right. I have to tell, if I want you to understand.' Harry walked over to the castle steps, sitting down on the bottom step. Edmond sat down next to him. 'Well, you already know that my parents died when I was a baby. After that I lived with my relatives. My mother's family; they're muggles. They hate everything magic and everything that has to do with magic. They even hate muggle stories about magic. So, obviously, they've always hated me, too. They made me do chores, things a child couldn't do, like cooking. And if I failed, they punished me for it. I was locked in a cupboard most of the time, until I was eleven.'

Edmond listened wide eyed, but suddenly something seemed to click in his mind, 'But you said you where home schooled. Your relatives wouldn't have allowed it, right ?'

'No, you're right. They didn't. There was a boy in my neighbourhood, his family was pureblood, and they found out about me not being able to go to Hogwarts. The boy was supposed to be home schooled because his parents didn't want him to attend Hogwarts. So they told my relatives I could be schooled with their son. My relatives didn't object, they were glad to finally be rid of me every day. So that is where I learned magic.'

Harry was surprised at his own lies. It was so easy to tell them and Edmond believed them easily. Of course they weren't far from the truth. 'When I was thirteen, I found out I had a godfather. He was thought to be the murderer of my parents, and had escaped muggle prison. But when I found out the truth I got to know him better. He offered me a home away from my relatives. I finally got some hope to have a loving home to go to every night after my stay with Cedric during the days.' Harry felt his heart ache again. He missed Sirius so much. The guilt over his death was eating his heart up. Edmond seemed to notice his hurt, for he steered the story to another topic.

'What about Cedric, your friend.' Harry was silent for a few seconds after that, he didn't know how much he could tell about him.

'He got in an accident when we were fourteen. Cedric and I liked to get ourselves in trouble; we liked adventures. One of those adventures got him killed. We were playing quidditch, and tried to pull some stunts. Cedric wasn't a very good flyer, so he was afraid to try some moves. I talked him into one, even though I knew Cedric was afraid. He fell of his broom and broke his neck. We were alone and I was to late to cast a cushioning charm. He died instantly. I still feel guilty about it. If only I hadn't talked him into it he would still be alive.'

'It doesn't sound like it was your fault, just an accident. Boys do that kind of things. We fell off our brooms countless times as well during quidditch practice, he just fell wrong.' If only Edmond knew the real reason for Cedric's death, he wouldn't talk so easily about this.

'Yeah, well, it still feels like it was, even though I know somewhere deep down it wasn't my fault.'

'I understand. Were you still able to study at Cedric's house after that ?'

'Yes, his parents didn't blame me, and they knew I would have to quit my schooling if I wasn't allowed, so I kept coming to their house every day. But it was difficult with his parents grieving; it kept reminding me about my part in the accident. So I focused on my lessons, and I improved my magic in the last year. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy anything without Cedric to share it with. A few months ago, my godfather came by to check how I was doing. It was dangerous, and I always told him not to walk out in public, because the muggle police was still looking for him. But he was worried because he had heard I wasn't doing well. The police found him and the moment he reached for his wand to apparate away, they shot him. They used a muggle gun and shot him right through his chest several times. They thought he was going to get a weapon out of his pocket to attack them. I watched him die there on the streets. I couldn't do anything to help him. It all happened so fast. Again someone died and I wasn't able to do a thing. It just feels like everybody that I care for dies.' Again, a story that is not that far from the truth. And because he used the muggle police, no one would find out it was a lie.

'Wow, Harry, I don't really know what to say.' Edmond had a horrified look on his face. He was staring off in the distance, lost in his thoughts.

'Yeah, well, now you know the truth about me. I hope you understand why I don't like to talk about my past. After Sirius died, I decided to come here. I wanted to start over. Cedric's house held to many bad memories.'

'Yeah, I understand Harry. I'm sorry for doubting you. I wouldn't be able to talk about that either, if that had happened to me.' Edmond gave him an apologetic smile. 'I'll keep the other boys off your back, alright. You don't have to tell them if you don't want to.'

'Thanks, Edmund. I'll tell them eventually. They'll keep doubting me if they don't know. And I will never be able to start over if everyone doubts me. I'm glad you listened. It helped a lot. Actually, I'm kind of surprised you're such a good listener. I thought you where the carefree kid, running after the girls all the time.' Edmond laughed at that, and Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing as well.

'You're welcome, Harry. But we really have to hurry now. We already missed most of our first class.' Edmond was still trying to keep from laughing when saying that. 'Or do you want to skip another hour and go do something fun ?'

'No, if I don't prove myself in class, Headmaster Dippet will put me back to fifth year, so I really have to attend class.' Edmond looked at him with a shocked face.

'So you can never skip and have some fun ? But I haven't even showed you the fun things about Hogwarts yet.'

'I know, but after the first weeks I won't have to keep studying as hard. The headmaster would only wait for the teachers to give their okay on my skills, after that I won't be watched as closely.'

'Fine, I'll just go skip class without you then, but not next class. We're having potions with Slughorn. He's a fun teacher. And he has this club, the other guys are going to get in, so I definitely want to get in as well.' Seeing the questioning look on Harry's face he explained further, 'It's called the Slug Club, and only some students get in. Everyone knows students in that club get favoured in class and outside of class as well. And Slughorn only invites you if you're "interesting" to him. Tom is already in, but that doesn't surprise me. Tom is always a favourite to many teachers.' Edmond rolled his eyes at the last. 'But I want to get in that class as well, and you should get in as well. It could help you out a lot if you get in trouble.'

'And I have a feeling I will, most likely, get in a lot of trouble hanging out with you.' Harry laughed. Edmond gave him a big grin but didn't answer him. They just kept walking down to the dungeons for their next potions class.

Harry was happy about the change; he liked how his lies had turned out. He realized he had a good ally and friend in Edmond. And he needed an ally. Humphrey was a nice friend, but Harry knew he would be a little bit too nice if he got in any trouble. And he still had to ask Tom for help, and if Tom's _help_ turned out wrong, he would definitely need someone to get him out of trouble.

Thank you for reading again.

**M**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer. **Harry potter or any of the other characters are not mine.

**A/N.** I'm sorry for the delay. I have been cut off from the internet for more than a week. I have been writing, but I had to do it without internet so I might have used some wrong names for I couldn't check it. I also decided this story is going to be slash. While I was writing this chapter it just seemed like the right thing. I also have some good news, **I like black clothes **offered to beta this story! I'm really happy about it, but because of the delay I will upload this chapter without it being checked over. I want to get the first few chapters checked as well, and I will put them up again after that. All the next chapters will be beta'd before posting, so I hope the story will improve from that. Thank you to the people who reviewed, and thank you for reading. Please leave me a review after reading.

**In Darker Times – chapter 7**

A week had passed after the conversation Harry had had with Edmond. Harry still hadn't asked Tom for help. Tom had kept his distance from Harry, and Harry felt more uneasy with every passing day. Humphrey had noticed as well. He had told Harry that morning that Tom had been sending letters to someone outside of Hogwarts. Harry didn't think that strange at all, but Humphrey said Tom had never been sending letters before, since he didn't have any family.

That day, during lunch, the usual owls flew into the great hall, each carrying a letter or package. A big brown owl flew over the Slytherin table and dropped a thick envelope in front of Tom. Vincent stopped eating to watch Tom grab the letter, as did Harry. But to their disappointment Tom had put the envelope in his bag and continued to eat his lunch.

The first class of the day was History of Magic. Harry hated that class in his own time, and he still hated it here. Professor Binns was the teacher in this time as well, and just as boring as in Harry's time. The ghost professor was still talking in the same monotone voice, and the students here weren't really paying attention either. Of course the good thing was that Harry had time for other things like figuring out about that letter Tom had received. It was probably nothing, but he was too curious to let it pass.

Harry took a seat next to Tom in the back of the classroom. The room was dimly lit, only a few streams of sunlight filtered in trough the high castle windows. Dust was collecting in the sunlight, dancing around in the air. Students started to get out their books, as did Harry. Professor Binns ordered them to open their books to page 261 and started talking about the goblin war against wizards in 1525. Harry quickly lost interest. All the other students did as well. Harry heard some girls giggling from the other side of the classroom and noticed them passing on tiny notes. Vincent and Edmond were writing something on a piece of parchment, while sniggering with an evil glint in their eyes. On the other side, the Gryffindors weren't doing any better with their concentration; he saw a girl drawing little hearts while staring at the boy in the front row.

Harry noticed Tom wasn't doing any better on his concentration; he was staring of in space, obviously lost in his own thoughts. Only now did Harry notice the ring on Tom's finger. He was twirling it around. It was an old looking ring, some heirloom maybe, with a crest on it. Harry wondered where Tom had gotten it, since he didn't have any family who could have given it to him. Suddenly, Harry remembered that he still had to ask Tom for some help with spell work, and decided now was a good time. He got out a piece of parchment and started to write a note to Tom.

_Tom. About the other day with the Unforgivables: Remember you offered to help me with them ?_

He slipped the parchment over to Tom's desk and saw how the boy read it over quickly before grinning and writing a reply.

_Of course I remember. I thought you didn't want to know anything about it ?_

_I changed my mind._

_Obviously… what made you change your mind then ?_

_I thought it over, and I think it might come in handy to know as much as possible. Not only about the unforgivables but other spells as well. _

_Hogwarts doesn't teach us enough about fighting, only teaching us how to defend ourselves._

_I agree on that. So what about it, you still want to help me ?_

_Alright… _

The parchment was exchanged quickly between the two boys, but Tom was hesitant about his last answer. Harry was afraid he wouldn't do it because of the delay, but let out a relieved breath after he got the parchment back. He looked over at Tom and smiled at him. He saw Tom replying with a small smile of his own. He had never seen Tom smile at anyone since he came to Hogwarts. It looked almost foreign on the boy's face. But as quickly as it came, it had vanished to the same neutral expression he wore around everyone.

The rest of class was rather uneventful. Binns was talking on about facts that didn't interest anyone and ordered them to write a two feet essay before next week. The class sighed and stood to leave. It felt as if the class had taken forever, the light in the hallways were hurting Harry's eyes after the little light in the classroom. But he was relieved to have their next hour free. Edmond and Vincent where going to the quidditch pitch and asked the rest to join them. Harry liked the change; maybe he could fly again. He had missed flying after his ban from last year. Humphrey and Paschal were going to start writing their essay already, and Tom surprised everyone by going to the pitch as well. Vincent looked at Tom strangely before smiling openly and swinging an arm around the boy, which Tom shrugged off with an angry look. Vincent only laughed harder at that and jogged up to walk next to Edmond again.

Tom came up next to Harry, but stayed silent during their walk. Harry looked at him from time to time, and saw that Tom was acting very uneasy, shifting his gaze over to Harry every few seconds. Harry laughed at him, trying to make him feel a little bit more comfortable, but Tom didn't return the smile this time and turned his gaze to the floor.

'So, Tom, you're a good flyer ?'

Tom shrugged, 'I guess.'

'Of course Tom can fly. He played Seeker on the team for the last two years!' Vincent cut in. Harry saw Tom give Vincent a pointed look, and Vincent joined Edmond again.

'Why aren't you on the team anymore this year, Tom ?'

'I just don't enjoy flying anymore. I've got other things to do instead of practicing for every stupid match.'

Harry didn't know what to answer to that. He saw Edmond and Vincent giving each other a knowing look. He wondered what they knew about Tom that Harry didn't know yet.

Finally the boys had reached the quidditch field. Tom sat down on the benches, while Edmond and Vincent picked out a broom from the broom shed. Harry decided to join Tom on the benches, although he would rather go with the other boys to fly. Tom saw Harry's dilemma and smiled a little.

'You don't have to sit with me, you know. I can clearly tell that you rather go flying.'

'How do you know what I would want to do ?' Harry knew it was obvious he loved flying. Flying was his life and he knew it showed on his face every time he saw other people flying.

'Pretty obvious isn't it? Your whole face lit up the moment we entered the field.' Tom rolled his eyes. Harry almost laughed out loud at that. The idea that Lord Voldemort _rolled_ _his eyes_! But he sniggered a little instead. This wasn't Voldemort after all: not really. This was Tom Riddle. A sixteen year old boy. It was hard to imagine the snake-like face with the piercing red eyes when he looked at Tom. Why would he ever trade his handsome appearance for the ugly features Harry knew so well ?

Tom saw Harry staring and raised an eyebrow at him. Harry quickly looked back at the field, and Tom let it slide, thankfully. The boy bent down to grab a book out of his bag. The same book he had been reading in the dorm. It still looked like the fifth year Defence against the Dark Arts book, but Harry knew now what it really was.

'Aren't you afraid someone else will find out what's in that book, Tom ? They might tell a professor about it.'

'No Harry, they won't tell a professor. And the professor's wouldn't believe them anyway.'

'How do you know ?'

Tom looked up at Harry. 'How do I know they won't tell, or that the professor's wouldn't believe them ?'

'Both I guess.' Harry held out his hands, gesturing for the book. Tom gave it to him, and Harry started to leaf through it.

'They won't tell, because they know the professor's won't believe them and because they know what I'm capable of; or at least they heard the rumours. And the professors won't believe them because they didn't believe the stories before.' Tom shrugged at that, watching carefully how Harry continued to look at the pages of the book. After a moment of silence, Harry looked up at Tom.

'What stories ?'

'About Moaning Myrtle, and the monster.'

Harry remembered those stories from his own time of course, but he couldn't let Tom know that. He knew Hagrid was framed for Tom's actions with the Chamber of Secrets, and he also knew Moaning Myrtle had died because she looked the basilisk in the eyes. Tom had set it free and Hagrid got expelled.

'What monster? And who is Moaning Myrtle ?'

'Nothing important, really. The rumour goes that a monster was set free which had killed a student. Some students said I was the one to set the monster free. In the end, a half giant was expelled because he owned a big spider. Of course, a half giant isn't supposed to be in Hogwarts, so it was good riddance in the end, anyway.'

Harry was silent after that for a moment. Tom hadn't said he'd done it, but he hadn't said he'd not done it, either.

'So, did you do it then ?'

Tom looked back at the field at that, but didn't answer the question. Harry took that as his answer. He began to study the book, again. He didn't know most of the spells mentioned in the book. He knew the Unforgivables, of course, but there were other spells in there, as well. He felt disgusted at some of them, but some others could be very useful to him. They were dark spells, but only if used incorrectly. In the right situation, they could prove to be rather helpful.

One spell in particular caught Harry's attention; it was a spell that would make the opponent temporarily blind. Tom saw Harry's interest and leaned in to see what he was reading.

'That's a stupid spell Harry, why would you want to make someone blind ? It won't do you any good. They can still cast curses even when they can't see.'

Harry understood what Tom was thinking. He had heard Dumbledore say enough about Voldemort to know that the man didn't think logical.

'Yes but if you can't see your target you won't be able to aim properly anymore. You could really use that in your advantage.'

'The book says it's a torture curse to use on someone when you want to break them. But I can't imagine being afraid if someone turned me blind.'

'I can. My relatives locked me up in a cupboard until I turned eleven. I remember when I was a little child that I was afraid of the dark. I could hear and feel the spiders in there, but I didn't know where they were. I didn't know the time: it could be night or day. I wouldn't know because no light would enter in the cupboard. I used my imagination to escape. Dreaming that I was in a bed, under the covers, and that that was the reason I couldn't see. When I grew older, I got more used to it and the dark wouldn't scare me as much anymore.'

Tom nodded at that. 'I know what you mean. I wasn't afraid of the dark either. I used to hide in a cave near the orphanage, so I was used to the dark. I just can't imagine anyone being afraid of darkness.'

Harry knew the stories about Tom Riddle's childhood, but suddenly he saw the similarities between them. They both had horrible childhoods, and both of them had never recieved any love when they where children. But Harry had known love when he had entered Hogwarts. He had met Ron and Hermione. The Weasley family had always been very kind to him. Tom hadn't known that kind of love. Harry felt a pang of pity for the other boy. How could no one see what had happened to Tom. No one seemed to care about him at all. He had friends, but they kept their distance, as if they were afraid of him. Even the professors didn't notice him, not really. They spoke highly of his marks, and his intelligence, but they never spoke about the real Tom, about the person he was.

Tom seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well. He was watching Vincent and Edmond playing with a bludger. They were laughing loudly, trying to hit the bludger and sent it flying at the other person. Harry decided he had seen enough of the book and closed it, setting it down on the bench beside him. Harry and Tom continued to watch the two other boys having fun. Suddenly, Tom got up. He put the book back in his bag and motioned for Harry to stand as well.

'So, you wanted me to teach you some of these spells right ? We've still got some free hours left. If you'd like we could start now.' Tom gave Harry a crooked half grin, and Harry felt a little bit of weight lift of his shoulders, again. He stood as well and followed Tom back to the castle. He was here to save the future and he was going to do just that. And maybe he could help Tom a little, as well. Dumbledore had said that Tom didn't know love, but Harry was determined to make it change. Tom deserved a good friend and Harry could be just that.

**A/N. **Thank you again for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

**In darker times – chapter 8**

Harry had been practicing with Tom for almost an hour now. He felt tired, and he hadn't even learned anything yet. Tom was leaning against the wall, grinning at Harry's exhaustion. Harry only glared at Tom while he was trying to calm his anger.

Tom wanted Harry to _control his magic. _Harry didn't even understand what it meant! Tom had explained to him how he was supposed to feel the magic flow through his body while he was using it. And that he would eventually be able to use that to control the power of his spells. Harry hadn't felt a thing, but he supposed Tom had meant the tingle he felt in his hand when he used his wand. He couldn't feel it in his body though.

After he calmed himself down again, he turned around to look at Tom. Tom was still grinning, twirling his wand around in his hand.

"How am I ever going to get this Tom, I can't feel it. I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel it." He was frustrated, he thought Tom was going to teach him spells. But this was getting him nowhere! And Tom's calmness only infuriated him more. Tom seemed to sense his fury, for he removed the grin from his face and replaced it with a frown.

"You can't expect yourself to learn this quickly Harry. We've only been practicing for an hour now. Some people will never feel it, they're weak, but you're not weak. You can already feel your magic while using your wand. Most people aren't even able to do that. Now, do you want to continue or stop for today ?"

Harry knew he couldn't stop now, Tom was right, they had only been practicing for an hour. It had taken longer for him to learn to cast his patronus, so he couldn't really expect himself to learn this in an hour.

"No, I want to continue." He stood up straight again and faced Tom. The boy looked surprised, he obviously hadn't expected this answer from Harry. It was Harry's turn to grin now. Tom smiled back a little, obviously satisfied.

"Alright, stand straight and prepare to cast a spell again. Think of the spell, try to build up your magic. You said you can feel it in your hand, try to feel how it enters your hand through your arm and the rest of your body. Concentrate on the spell, not on the feeling."

Harry closed his eyes, he felt the tingling in his hand again. He was thinking about a simple spell before, but tried to cast a patronus this time. He felt it worked a little, the tingling was stronger. But it was more draining than the simple spells. The words where on his lips, his magic waiting for him to speak. He bit his lip in concentration, he had to do it right this time. He felt the magic in his arm now, burning in his elbow, but it was weaker than in his hand. Different as well, it wasn't a tingling sensation, more a warm feeling. Like flowing water.

After what seemed like eternity he opened his eyes again. He was panting now, but he had felt! Finally he understood what Tom had meant, he wasn't there yet, but he had felt more than with the earlier tries. His face broke out in a smile, Tom was smiling as well. He held a hand out for Harry to take, and helped him of the floor. Harry hadn't even realized he was sitting on his knees, it must have happened while concentrating on his spell so hard.

"Good work Harry, tell me, what did you do different that you felt it this time ?"

"I tried a more powerful spell, I used an easy spell before. I thought it would be easier to feel when I had to use more magic."

Tom nodded at that. "Yes, you can feel better than. Why didn't you try before ?"

"Well, why didn't you tell me before Tom ? If you had told me I would already have felt it."

Tom laughed at that, and Harry felt anger at that again. So, this was funny was it ?

"You think this is funny ? We could have practiced a lot more today if I had found this out earlier you know ?"

"I know Harry, but the point is that you found out for yourself. What fun would it be if I told you everything ? I had to find out on my own as well you know."

Harry snorted at that, he understood what Tom meant, but it was still pretty unfair. His teachers at Hogwarts had always told him this kind of things before they started practicing. It was much easier that way. But that was the whole point wasn't it, Tom was not going to make this easy for him.

Tom sighed after seeing Harry's mood change.

"Come on Harry, I think this is quite enough for today. We can practice more tomorrow. You didn't really think I was going to make this easy on you, did you ?" He raised an eyebrow at Harry, and Harry couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"No I didn't, but could you at least give me a hint or something next time ?" Tom gave him his half smile again, obviously not then.

Harry followed Tom out of the abandoned classroom. They lifted their silencing charms and wards Tom had put up before they started their 'lesson' and walked of toward the great hall for diner. They walked in silence, until just before they would enter the great hall Tom turned towards Harry.

"You can't speak to anyone about this lessons alright, especially not any professor's. I'm being watched already, so I don't need any more attention." Harry noticed the hidden treat, he saw the danger in Tom's eyes again. The relaxed sixteen year old boy was gone now, and in his place stood a young Lord Voldemort. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine at that, he hadn't noticed the connection before, not really, but he saw it now. But he was not going to show his fear, he already saw their dorm mates shrink away from Tom sometimes, and he was not going to be like them.

"Of course not Tom. I don't know if you had noticed, but people are watching me as well. Especially headmaster Dippet and Dumbledore don't seem to trust me."

This seemed to calm Tom's worries a bit, for he nodded and turned around to enter the great hall again. Harry followed him, and sat next to Tom on the Slytherin benches. The other boys where already there, and had been saving seats for them. Harry noticed Vincent's look when he sat down next to Tom. He was sitting in his usual spot, but Harry pretended not to notice and started to pile food on his plate. Their practice session had starved him, and he desperately needed some food in his stomach. Humphrey laughed at his actions and Harry looked up at him.

"What've you been up to this afternoon Harry, you seem pretty starved."

"Oh, just studying. Gets me pretty hungry sometimes." He grinned at Humphrey. He hoped he would buy it. Humphrey shrugged at him and turned back to Paschal who was reading his essay over again, it seemed like the boy was still struggling with whatever they had been studying today.

Edmond was chatting with a blonde girl from seventh year about quiditch practice that would be held in a few days. Edmond played chaser and apparently they needed one more chaser, a keeper and a seeker on their team.

Vincent was awfully quiet, he was watching Harry and Tom eat quietly next to him. Every time Harry looked over at him he turned his gaze away with an angry frown. The rest of dinner passed with the three boys eating in silence. Finally after what seemed like ages, Tom got up, followed immediately by Vincent. Harry wanted to follow as well, but Vincent shot him a look that made him change his mind. He decided to wait for Humphrey and Paschal instead and join them after dinner.

He thought about his 'lesson' some more. He would definitely have to keep practicing on his own if he wanted to speed things up a little. He could easily practice while using his regular spells, but he had to be careful that no one would notice, for he didn't want to explain himself if someone asked him about it.

Finally Paschal sighed and got up. Humphrey had gotten up as well, and was putting away his history of magic book.

"So Harry, we've got Slug Club tonight. Only you and Paschal aren't in yet, although I doubt if Paschal is ever going to get in." Paschal shot him an angry look at that, but Humphrey pretended not to care and continued, "So what are you going to do tonight ?"

Harry had forgotten about the club, and he didn't feel like spending his free night studying with Paschal. Maybe he could practice some more, or start with his own homework. He hardly knew anyone else in the castle yet, so he didn't have many options. He could contact Dumbledore through his journal as well, to let him know how things where going. But he didn't feel like telling the man anything just yet, he knew Dumbledore wouldn't approve of any training by Tom Riddle. But he could lie a little, tell him he hadn't found out anything yet, which wasn't that far from the truth, and Dumbledore would be satisfied for a little while longer.

He should really try to get in that club as well though, it sounded boring, but at least he wouldn't be left alone when the rest of his dorm mates where there. Harry didn't know Paschal well enough, but he seemed to be studying a lot, and Harry didn't like the idea of studying for the whole evening.

Humphrey was watching him sympathetically, and Harry noticed Paschal was nervously standing on the side.

"I don't know, I guess I could read something or start on my essay for history of magic, not many other options." He shrugged, and started to walk towards the dungeons. "Where is that club held anyway ?"

"Professor Slughorn uses a unused classroom, he made it really nice and comfortable. It's near the dungeons. It will only take a few hours, so we will be back around ten."

They had reached the classroom and Humphrey said goodbye to Harry and Paschal. Paschal came to walk nervously beside Harry and they continued there way to the common room.

"Why are you nervous Paschal ?" The boy in question seemed to jump a little at that, but Harry pretended not to notice, "I don't know you very well, but you seem awfully jumpy tonight."

"Because of the essay we have to turn in, I can't get it right." He was struggling to get the words out and Harry noticed immediately the boy was lying. But he didn't push him to continue. They had reached the common room anyway. Paschal was immediately walking towards his usual spot in the corner, not paying anyone any attention.

Harry went straight for the dorm rooms, and got his journal out, along with a quill and ink.

_Professor,_

He had to wait for a few minutes, and almost gave up when a hasty scribbling filled the page. It was nothing like the neat handwriting he was used to from the headmaster.

_Harry, how are you my boy ?_

_I'm fine, thank you professor. How are things at home ?_

_Everything is going fine, your friends ask about you regularly. Have you made any progress yet ?_

_Not really, but there is something I have to ask you. Tom is in a club, the Slug Club. Professor Slughorn is hosting it. I was wondering what kind of club it is and how I can get in. _

_That is an excellent idea Harry. Professor Slughorn started the club so he could surround himself with talented students, it was a great club to get higher on the social ladder. All of Tom's friends where in there if I remember correctly._

_Not all of them, Paschal Nott isn't in. _

_No he wasn't, I forgot about that poor boy._

_What do you mean professor ? _

_Nothing to worry yourself over Harry. If you want to get in that class you have to prove yourself to professor Slughorn, and have the right connections, but that shouldn't give you any trouble. I'm sure Tom can help you in, professor Slughorn was always especially fond of Tom. _

_And how can I get myself in without help professor ?_

_You are an incredible flyer Harry, that talent alone should get you in that club. _

_Alright Professor, I've not been able to play quiditch yet, but I'll try to get in that club somehow. Thank you for the help._

_Anytime my boy, is there anything else you wished to talk about ?_

_No sir, that was all._

_Alright, don't hesitate to contact me for anything. Goodnight Harry._

_Goodnight professor. And thank you again. _

Harry sighed in relief, it seemed like Dumbledore didn't suspect anything. He got out easy this time. Harry knew that Dumbledore would not be pleased if he found out about him learning dark arts from Tom, he would possibly even make him come back.

Harry put the journal back in his suitcase, locking it securely. He looked at the old clock on the wall and saw he still had almost an hour before the boys would be done with their club. Harry had no desire to spend time with Paschal, although he wondered why professor Dumbledore had referred to him as a 'poor boy'. But he had also told he shouldn't worry about it, so he supposed it was not important.

Getting out his wand he decided to practice with his magic some more. He picked out a slightly more difficult spell, the patronus, for it would be easier to feel his magic flow then. Concentrating on a happy feeling proved to be hard, he hadn't had much good things happen to him in the last few months. Suddenly Tom's face came up in his mind, and he felt his magic surge trough his body, the sudden feeling made Harry drop his wand. He stared at it in shock, how could Tom's face create such strong feelings ? He hadn't felt anything before when he saw Tom, so how did his face come to his mind so quickly ? He had tried to conjure a strong happy feeling for his patronus, and he had never associated Tom to happiness. But Tom had been the one who offered him a chance to learn some strong magic, and he had really helped him earlier today.

He picked up his wand again, deciding to try it again. Again his magic went surging the moment he conjured Tom in his mind, he felt it tingling in the hand where he held his wand. It spread out to his arm, and in just moments he felt his whole body tingling with magic, just waiting for him to cast a spell. It was a wonderful feeling, a feeling of power. Harry knew that if he would cast a spell right now it would be immensely powerful. He had never before felt this powerful, like he could destroy, cause pain. He lowered his wand again, shocked with the feeling. Harry didn't want to cause anyone pain, or destroy something. But then why had it felt so good ? It had felt almost natural to him, like he had done it al before.

Suddenly the door opened and his roommates walked in. Harry looked at the clock and saw that he had been standing there for more than an hour. It had only felt like a few minutes to him.

"What where you doing with your wand Harry ?" Humphrey was looking at him suspiciously.

"Practicing."

Tom had a smirk on his face, he knew what Harry had been practicing. Harry locked eyes with him, and Tom held it for a moment. He seemed to understand that Harry had gotten the hang of it, for he motioned with his head to follow him.

They walked down the stairs, to a more private part of the common room. Tom set up a silencing charm around them and waited for Harry to begin talking.

Harry told him everything, except for the part where he used Tom's face to conjure the feeling. Tom seemed to understand, he had a huge grin on his face by the time Harry ended his explanation.

"You got it Harry, that was exactly the feeling I meant this morning."

"But it didn't feel good Tom. Well, it did feel good, but not what I'm used to. It felt dark, angry, like I could really hurt someone. I've never felt my magic like that, it always felt lighter."

"But doesn't this feel better ? Imagine the great things you could do. People will respect you, they wouldn't disobey you if you asked them anything. They would fear you."

"But I don't want people to fear me Tom." Harry let his head drop down in his hands. Tom had to understand, anger and aggression where not the answer to everything. "And people would not respect me, fear is not respect."

"Then what do you want Harry. I can teach you but if you don't want to use it, then what is the point of learning ?"

"I still want to learn, it just scared me a bit I guess." Harry sat up straight again, he could always decide to use his new power for good things.

"That's understandable, It feels really overwhelming at first. But you'll get used to it after a few times. And your still in charge Harry, it won't act on it's own."

Harry couldn't believe that Tom had just said that, the future Dark Lord had just told him he didn't have to use his magic in a dark way. He kept the eye contact a little longer, and he started to feel his magic tingling again, surging through his whole body. Harry quickly broke the contact and his magic died down, but was it really his magic ? He had never felt it before, and he didn't even held his wand.

Tom stood up, lifting the charm around them. Harry stood as well, and began following Tom back upstairs before his eye caught sight of a sign on the message board. Hogsmeade weekend would be coming up next weekend.

"You want to go ?" Tom had apparently seen Harry looking at the sign.

"Are you guys going ?"

"I don't know, but we could go if you want to."

"Sure, sounds like fun." Harry was grinning at Tom, who just shook his head and started walking upstairs again. A Hogsmeade weekend with Tom Riddle, where had the world come to ?

**A/N. **Alright people, thank you for reading again. This chapter has not been edited yet. Chapter 1 has been put up again, edited. The rest of the chapters are also being edited. It will take longer for me to upload new chapters, because I've had some trouble with my internet connection, I'm typing on my own computer and then I have to upload on a different computer. But I'm trying to make it as quick as possible.

Please leave me a review after reading, It keeps me motivated. And thanks again for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N are at the bottom, make sure to read them ;)**

**Disclaimer. I Don't own anything you recognise. **

**In darker times – chapter 9**

The Hogsmeade weekend was a welcome distraction for most of Hogwarts' students. It had been a week full of homework and busy schedules. Harry had some extra work on top of the rest, for he had to turn in his essays to prove he possessed the knowledge of a sixth year student. The transfiguration essay had been the most challenging, Harry had a suspicion Dumbledore had been making it extra hard especially for him. Professor Dumbledore still didn't trust him, he had been watching him in the great hall when he thought Harry didn't see him.

But the essay turned out better than Harry had hoped. He had paid extra attention to it. He had even asked the Slytherin Head Boy, Richard, for help. Richard was a seventh year Slytherin who reminded Harry a lot of Hermione. He was smart, and knew a lot more than he had had to learn at Hogwarts. Richard had checked his essay and made some small changes, he had assured Harry it was a good essay, better than should be expected from a sixth year. So Harry left it at that and had turned it in hoping Dumbledore had the same opinion as Richard.

Right now, he was waiting for his roommates in the common room. They would be going to Hogsmeade together. Vincent was sitting with him. Harry still didn't know what to think about him, he seemed like a loyal friend to Tom, but he kept shooting him suspicious glances ever since he arrived at Hogwarts.

'So, Vincent, are you going to buy anything in particular today ?'

'I need a new winter robe, my old one is to short. Have you ever been in Hogsmeade before?'

'Only when I first arrived, my portkey brought me there.' Harry was glad he didn't have to lie, because he knew Vincent would look right trough him. Luckily Vincent only nodded and didn't seem to think twice about his answer.

'Do you have a girlfriend Harry ?' Harry almost jumped at the unexpected question.

'Why do you ask ?'

'Just curious, you don't seem like the steady girlfriend type.'

'No I don't have a girlfriend, but I'm not the type to have a different girl every week if that's what your suggesting.'

'I wasn't suggesting anything like that Harry.' Vincent had an amused grin on his face, he knew Harry was getting angry.

'Then what are you suggesting Vincent ?'

'I just think your more the boy type.'

'Well, you thought wrong then.' Apparently, Vincent didn't seem to get the hint for his grin only grew wider.

'You don't have to be embarrassed about it Harry, it's not a crime or something. Tom is into guys as well. The whole school knows it.'

Harry was startled at that. He had never known Tom to like guys, he hadn't even considered Tom to like anyone at all in that sort of way. He had never really thought about his sexual preferences himself. He thought he liked Cho, but when she had kissed him he hadn't felt a thing. And besides Cho, he had never looked at any girl like that. But he had felt that thing when he had thought about Tom a few days ago, but that surely hadn't meant anything, had it? He couldn't have a preference for guys, what would his friends think, or the rest of the world. The press would have a field day when they found out.

But he shouldn't care about the press, and would his friends really be that horrible to him if they knew he was gay? Probably not, at least Hermione wouldn't. Maybe Ron would be a bit difficult, but he would definitely come around. They had had some difficulties before, and they had always worked them out.

He didn't get much more time to think it over, because his dorm mates came down at that moment. Humphrey was laughing with Edmond over something, Paschal looked flustered so Harry suspected they had pulled a prank on him or something. Tom walked in the back, making eye contact with Vincent, who winked at Tom in return. Harry pretended not to have noticed when Tom looked his way. Instead he stood up and walked outside after Humphrey and Edmond.

Harry was lost in his own thoughts for the whole way down to Hogsmeade. Edmond was talking about the upcoming quiditch match against Ravenclaw. Harry pretended to listen to him, nodding every time Edmond looked his way.

'Is something wrong with you, Harry? I asked you a question and you only nodded.' Harry noticed Edmond really looked worried.

'I'm sorry, Edmond. I wasn't really listening. I guess I missed the question.'

'I asked what you think about the new kid playing for the Ravenclaw team.'

'I don't know, I haven't seen him play.' Harry didn't even know who Edmond was talking about, let alone how the kid played. He had only been thinking about what Vincent had told him. It was stupid to let Vincent influence him like this. The boy never spoke a word to him, and now that he had, Harry could only think about how Vincent may have been right.

'I think he sucks. Better for us though, one player less to worry about. The new seeker is someone to keep close watch on, I've heard he's pretty good.'

'Yeah, the new Ravenclaw seeker right ? He's the best they've had in the last couple years.' Humphrey had joined in on the conversation, which Harry was grateful for, because he wasn't really paying attention. He slowed his pace a little, so he could walk behind the two other boys.

Finally, after a walk that seemed to take forever, Harry saw Hogsmeade nearing. He noticed a lot of students where already walking around the now busy shopping street. Girls where carrying shopping bags and giggling together, while a group of Griffindor boys where leaving the candy store with bags full of candy. Harry felt a pang of sadness seeing the Griffindors laughing and joking around, he missed his Griffindor friends and classmates. Slytherin wasn't that bad, but it was different. The Griffindors seemed less serious, it felt like he had a warm robe around him while he was around them. The Slytherins where colder, more to themselves. He seemed like they would drop each other right away if they would get something out of it. His new friends seemed nice enough, but in the end, they would not be coming with him if he was going to do something reckless like saving his godfather. He would have to do things alone, while his Griffindor friends never hesitated, and would do anything to help him out. Even if that would put their own lives in danger.

He didn't get a long time to dwell on that, for Humphrey ran of with Edmond and Vincent, leaving Harry alone with Tom. Harry wondered if Vincent did this on purpose or just didn't want to spend the day with Harry and Tom, who had also been very quiet for the whole morning.

'So, Harry, where do you want to go first?' Harry shrugged, remembering on time that he was not supposed to know Hogsmeade.

'I don't know, what kind of shops are there? I do need a new winter robe though, Vincent mentioned that he was buying one as well. I want a new one outside of the Hogwarts robes.'

Tom laughed at that, a sound Harry got more used to every day. 'Yes that would be handy, you don't want everyone to know your from Hogwarts all the time.'

'No, I don't.'

'Well come on, I'm sure you'll take just as much time as some girls do right?' Harry pretended to look horrified at that, putting his hand on his forehead to add a little more drama. Which only made Tom laugh harder.

Half an hour later Tom and Harry walked out of the store with Harry carrying a bag with his new robe in it. He ended up with a beautiful midnight blue robe with soft fur on the inside. The fur peeked out at the linings and was visible inside of the hood. It had cost him a lot of money, a ridicules amount Harry would normally never spend on his appearance. But the seller and Tom had both insisted it looked gorgeous on him, and if that hadn't persuaded him, the giggling group of Ravenclaw girls hanging in the back of the store had. So Harry decided that a little spending wouldn't harm him, had bought it.

He did feel a bit guilty, both about the fur, and for his argument about the girls when he now knew Tom had his eyes on him. But Harry was still in doubt about his feelings and tried to convince himself as well that he did it for the girls. He had seen the emotions flash in Tom's eyes when he had said the girls would love this robe. He tried to ignore it, but he still felt guilty about it.

'Look, Tom, Vincent talked to me this morning, he said your into guys.'

Tom kept walking, not looking at Harry. 'Yes I know, he told me.'

'He also thought I also had an interest in boys.'

'Which you don't. You made that quiet obvious back in that store, Harry.' Tom had stopped walking to turn towards Harry.

'I don't know, Tom. He got me thinking. I have always been to busy to think about those things. I liked a girl once, but I never thought about the possibility of me liking boys as well. It's confusing.'

That had gotten Tom to lighten up a bit more. 'I know, it was pretty confusing for me as well, especially since I grew up in a muggle orphanage. It's a lot less normal for muggles then it is in the wizarding world you know. Vincent told me he had noticed that I wasn't interested in girls, and he mentioned I didn't have to hide my sexuality in the wizarding world, since it is accepted more. It's just not a big deal. And if you like guys, that does not mean your gay, you can like girls and boys.'

'Do you?'

'Do I what?'

'Like boys _and_ girls?'

'No, I just like boys. Come on, we can better get inside if we don't want to freeze to death.' Tom was right, it was pretty cold outside, especially since it was only half of October and it was usually warmer this time of the year.

Harry was glad Tom had tried to lighten the conversation a bit and followed him inside the three broomsticks. It was crowded inside, but Harry easily spotted their roommates sitting in the back. Edmond waved them over, and Harry quickly forced himself trough the crowd of students. Only Edmond had noticed them, Harry noticed Paschal an Humphrey laughing together about something Vincent had said. He looked a lot less nervous, but the moment Harry and Tom took a seat at their table his mood changed dramatically. Paschal almost jumped from his chair.

"Easy Paschal, it's just us." Harry hoped to calm the boy down a bit, but it didn't seem to work. Humphrey also noticed this, for he announced he himself, Vincent and Paschal where going to the bookstore. A few moments later they had both left, leaving Harry to wonder why the other boy had reacted that way.

"What was that all about?"

"Don't worry about it Harry, Paschal will be fine in a while." Edmond gave him a apologetic look.

"Why is he so jumpy all the time, he seemed fine when we walked in."

Edmond exchanged a look with Tom, and Harry noticed Tom giving a dark look back. What was this all about, they where hiding something big from him. What did they think, that he was stupid?

"Tell me what's going on. Your hiding something about Paschal, and I want to know what it is."

"No, you don't Harry. It's not your business, it's something between me and Paschal." Now Harry was at the receiving end of Tom's dark mood. Harry decided to let it rest, whatever it was, he would get it out of someone, but he would not let this incident ruin his Hogsmeade trip. And it was quiet obvious nobody was going to tell him right now.

"So, what do you think about Hogsmeade so far Harry ?" Harry was grateful to Edmond for trying to lighten the mood.

"It's a nice change from Hogwarts. Have you bought anything ?"

"No, though I wish I could buy that new broom. Cleansweep 150, have you seen it?" Edmond was leaning forward in his chair, excitement written all over his face.

"No I haven't, what's so good about it ?" This was a conversation Harry enjoyed.

"Damn fast it is, reacts like no other broom around. If I can get my hands on one of those brooms we'll win this years cup for sure."

Tom laughed at that, "Sure Edmond, if you got your hands on that broom you should first give it to a descend player before promising things like the quiditch cup. You where the only reason we lost last year, you should have paid more attention to the quafle instead of those girls." Harry also started laughing. Edmond was glaring daggers at both of them, but started laughing as well when he couldn't hold it in anymore.

After all three of them had finished their butterbeers they left the three broomsticks to head over to Zonko's to get some candy before returning to Hogwarts. A lot of students where already leaving, most of them carrying bags full of candy or prank products. The girls where packed with clothes or books. One group was collected in front of the book store giggling over a girls magazine.

Edmond went loose in Zonko's, loading his bag to the brink with candy and fireworks.

"Look at this Harry, it will be so much fun to give this to Vince." His face was flushed from running around the store. "It's a chocolate frog in disguise, it makes him dance and sing the national anthem."

"Vincent won't be laughing about that you know." Harry couldn't help but grin about the image in his head. Vincent would definitely be the best target for this. "When are you giving it ? You have to make sure I'm there when you do it."

"Of course, everyone has to be there. But we have to wait a while, people always expect to be pranked after a Hogsmeade day."

When they left the store a while later the wind had picked up and it was already starting to get dark, they had to get back to the school. The walk back was mostly filled with Edmond talking about all his prank supplies, and the broom he had seen. Tom walked next to Harry in silence, he hadn't said much after what happened at the three broomsticks.

"Tom, I've been practicing. When is the next lesson ?" He made sure Edmond hadn't heard, but still got an angry glare in return, which he ignored.

"I don't know, tomorrow maybe, if you're up to it of course." Tom was grinning now, not the evil grin he normally whore, this was a more teasing grin. Harry picked it up immediately and poked Tom in the ribs.

"What do you think, I'm always ready." Tom only snorted in response.

"We'll see."

Harry left it at that, and started discussing pranks with Edmond again. He was up to some fun, this time could really use someone like the Weasley twins to make school more bearable. Especially since he had a nagging feeling that Tom was not only threatening with his lessons, he knew they would get harder.

**A/N. Tanks for reading again. I've noticed a lot of people have added this story to their alert list, and a few even added it to their favourite list. I'm flattered by it, it means a lot since I'm having a pretty hard time writing this story. I've started a new job, and had some very hard things to do in the last period of time. It's starting to get better but it is still hard to find some time to write. **

**It is nice to see that so many of you are interested in this story, but it is also a bit disappointing to see that most of you aren't taking the time to review. It will not take a lot of time, and I would really like to know what you think about this story so far. Of course special thanks go to the people that did review, let's not forget about you. Some of you have even reviewed since the first chapter, which makes your reviews extra special for me.**

**I want to thank, Lelouche-21, my new beta. You should all be grateful to her as well since I know now that my grammar mistakes are big. She is putting a lot of effort and time in editing this story, and she is also giving me some tips on my writing, which are really helpful. Most of the earlier chapters are in line of being beta'd, but I've put this chapter online before she has seen it because I didn't want to make you wait longer. **

**The edited chapters aren't containing anything major that you have to know, but you can still read them again if you like.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N at the bottom.**

**Chapter 10**

The next day Harry could only think about the lesson he had planned with Tom for that evening. He had been practicing for an hour now; Tom was a perfectionist who expected nothing less from anyone else. Harry knew he could now feel his magic flow when he used a spell; he had tried to feel it with every spell he uses. And after he had felt it for the first time, it became less hard to notice even with the less powerful spells.

He had been wondering what Tom had planned for him, he had mentioned this was the first step in controlling your magic, but Harry didn't understand what he had meant with that. He had tried to grasp the feeling of power, to hold on to it just a little longer before casting his spell. But either his spell turned out to be too weak because he hadn't put enough force behind it, or he had blown something up because he had used too much force.

Beside his nervousness about not knowing what came next, he was also nervous about spending more time alone with Tom. They hadn't continued their conversation from Hogsmeade, and Harry was still thinking about his feelings, if they were there at all, for Tom. He had purposely sat down next to a girl at dinner, one he knew to like him. She had been flirting with him, and he had tried to act the same to her, but it hadn't turned out good at all. The girl was nice enough to just tell him he wasn't good at it, so it could have turned out worse, but it was still a kick to his ego. And even if it had turned out good, he had had to force himself to a conversation; he hadn't been attracted to her at all. His roommates, especially Tom and Vincent, had laughed at his failed attempt. Edmond had even told him he would get him dating lessons for Christmas.

Harry had laughed along with them, but inside he saw no reason at all to laugh. He only felt confusion, and fear, because deep down he knew Vincent may have been right. He didn't want it to be true, he had enough to worry about outside of the feelings he might have for Tom. He was the Dark Lord for crying out loud, he could not have feelings for the one person that had wanted him dead from the day he had been born. It was just not right; he could already imagine Dumbledore's reaction, let alone the reaction his best friends would give. His parents would turn around in their graves, their son in love with their murderer.

But he had always thought about what other people would think. They where not around in this time to see him having any kind of relationship with Tom, and he didn't have to tell anyone about it either. But still, he kept pushing the voice telling him that away. He could not keep this a secret, and if he really thought about it, it was not something he would have to keep a secret. If he was sexually attracted to men instead of woman people would just have to accept that.

It was with that thought in mind he made his way over to the empty classroom where he would have his lesson with Tom. He had thought about his lesson a lot, about what Tom would want him to learn next. When he entered the classroom Tom was already waiting for him. He had moved all the desks and chairs to the back wall, so there was a big empty space left.

Harry greeted Tom, and Tom only nodded in acknowledgement.

"Get your wand out, Harry."

"What are we doing today, Tom?"

"Spell casting, or better, I'm casting the spells and you are blocking them. You said you've been practicing your last lesson, so you should be able to block light spells as well as the more heavy ones using the same counter curse. You have to try to put more power in your spell if you want to block my heavier curses, have you figured out yet how to do that?"

"Well, I noticed I can feel my magic all trough my body before I cast a spell and that it will collect in my arm and hand just before I cast a spell. Does it have anything to do with that?"

Tom looked annoyed at his answer, and Harry felt kind of embarrassed that he hadn't figured it out on his own yet.

"You said you had been practicing, Harry. If you practiced enough you would have figured this out already. But you answered partially correct; you can focus more magic to your wand if you concentrate on it. That way, you will have more or less power in your spell as required."

"All right, how do I do that?"

"You'll have to figure that out on your own. Better do it quick though." Tom hadn't even finished his sentence yet before he send his first stinging hex his way. Harry hadn't had enough time to block or dodge so the curse hit him full on. Harry had felt more painful hexes, but this one still stung pretty badly.

"Damnit, Tom, you could at least have warned me you know?" He put his hands on his knees, waiting for the stinging feeling to wear off, but he didn't get the chance to because Tom was already sending another stinging curse his way, and again the curse hit him, sending him to the floor.

"You have to react faster, Harry, your enemy is not going to warn you in a real fight, and he won't be waiting for you to recover either. Now get up and block the curses."

"But this is not a real fight, Tom; you are supposed to teach me first!" Harry got up from the stone floor just before another curse was send Harry's way, and this time he jumped aside just in time before it could hit him again.

"I'm not supposed to do anything, now are you going to stop your temper tantrum or do you want me to keep hitting you with stinging curses? It is not that it's not amusing to see you struggle, but I won't waste my time on your whining."

Another curse was sent Harry's way, and this time Harry used a _protego_ to block it. Before he had the chance to recover from the spell, another one came which he blocked again. Tom kept this pace going for a few minutes, and Harry was growing more tired with every curse he blocked. Sweat began to form on his face, and Harry wondered why Tom wasn't looking tired. If anything, he looked even more amused than in the beginning. Still standing in the same spot with a smirk plastered on his face.

Suddenly, Harry saw Tom move just the tiniest bit, and he send another stinging curse his way. Harry cast another protego, but it didn't hold against the curse, and it hit him square in the chest, sending him flying in the wall behind him.

"That is what I meant with putting more power in your spell when required, Harry. Your _protego _wasn't strong enough to hold against my spell. My earlier curses where weaker, and you have been putting more power in your spell than necessary, which has wore you down. If you had put less power behind it you wouldn't be this tired now."

Standing up, Harry gave Tom an angry scowl before pointing his wand at the other boy again. Tom looked a bit surprised at that but soon got into position again himself. He started sending stinging curses Harry's way again, and Harry started blocking them once more. Harry tried to put more force into his spells, or less, depending on the strength Tom was using. He still didn't really get it right, but at least he now began to understand what he was supposed to do. It was getting more frustrating by the minute, every time he thought he felt his magic react like he wanted it to, Tom would already send another curse his way, making it more difficult to concentrate.

And then Tom did the same thing as before. He changed his stance and fired a more powerful curse his way. This time Harry was prepared, and he tried to put more force into his own blocking spell. He failed miserably again though, and went flying against the wall again. But at least he had felt his magic surge again; he knew it would work if he just practiced more. He barely even felt the pain in his body from the collision with the stone wall; he only felt an immense feeling of happiness. It was truly an incredible feeling of power he felt, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Tom kept standing in the middle of the classroom with a bewildered look on his face, which he carefully concealed the moment Harry looked up at him. Harry had still seen it, and he laughed even harder at that. Tom must think he had lost his mind or something, laughing like that when he had just been beaten again.

"I felt it, Tom! I know what you meant with feeling your power and controlling it."

"O did you? And why didn't I notice anything about that?"

"You where to fast, I was still trying to focus it to my wand when you send your curse at me. But I'll get it to react faster with a bit of practice, I know how it works now, so it should become easier from now on."

Suddenly there was a hand in front of him, offering to help him of from the floor. He hadn't even noticed Tom moving at all. But he still took the offered hand, and he was hauled to his feet a moment after. He couldn't help the smirk still plastered on his face, and he noticed Tom smiling slightly as well.

"Well, you better practice a lot then, Harry. You're going to need it the next time we practice in here."

"Next time? Can't we practice some more?" Tom turned around and started to walk towards the door, clearly leaving. He didn't answer Harry's question, instead he opened the door and turned around to wait for Harry, motioning with his head for him to follow.

Harry followed him out, and they continued to walk in silence. Harry soon noticed they were walking towards the Slytherin common room. His whole body began to feel sore, his muscles protesting with every step he took. The more his happy feeling wore of, the more aware he became of the feeling. Tom seemed to notice this too, for he slowed his pace so Harry could keep up.

Once they entered the common room, Harry continued straight up to the dorm room. He really needed to lie down for a bit before he would collapse. He felt exhausted and his legs had a lot of trouble climbing the stairs. He collapsed on his bed with a sigh, grateful for the soft covers. He didn't even notice the door closing until he saw a bottle being held in front of him, he followed the arm attached to it and met the amused grey eyes of Tom Riddle.

"Drink it, Harry."

"Who says you're not trying to poison me, Tom?"

"Fine, then don't drink it." Tom rolled his eyes and turned around to walk away again.

"Alright, I'll take it. I was only joking you know." He grabbed the bottle Tom held out and downed it in one go, grimacing at the foul taste of the potion. Instantly his muscles started to relax, and he fell back down on his bad with a relieved sigh. A small burning sensation still lingered, but it was nothing he couldn't deal with.

"Thanks, Tom."

"Your welcome, but don't expect to get them every time you suck at our lessons. You should try harder next time."

"Whatever you say, Tom." He closed his eyes and didn't notice the dark look Tom send his way before he left the dorm room, leaving Harry alone.

After a few more minutes just lying on his bed, Harry got up and started getting some clothes to take a shower. While rummaging trough his suitcase he caught sight of a letter lying on the floor next to Tom's bed with the Ministry of Magic seal on it. It was addressed to Tom and Harry wondered what Tom would need the Ministry for. It was already opened, so Harry could easily take a look at it, but if Tom would find out he knew the boy would be very angry at him for invading his privacy.

His curiosity got the upper hand though, and before he knew it he snatched the letter up from the floor and cast a detection charm on the door, so he would know when someone would be coming up. He took the letter from the envelope and quickly began scanning it content. The first thing he noticed was sign, this letter came from the Magical Registration Department, and the second thing he notices was his name in the title. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly began scanning the text, it soon became clear to Harry what this letter was about. Tom had asked the Ministry about Harry. He had asked if Harry was registered as a magical citizen. And the Ministry had responded negatively, claiming they knew no one by the name of Harry Evans to be part of the magical community. There had never been anyone registering him at birth or at eleven years old in case he was a muggleborn. They had also checked for any other person by the name Evans, in case Harry was not his official name, but there had never been a magical person by the name Evans either.

Panic began to form inside of him. Harry felt his lungs constricting, making it harder for him to breath. This was not going to plan at all; Tom was not supposed to doubt him. But he clearly was, or he would never have contacted the Ministry of Magic. It was clear to Harry now that Tom did not trust his story, and Harry had to change that quickly if he didn't want to get into any trouble. The date on the letter was from a week ago, and he wondered why Tom had not confronted him with this yet. Maybe he was waiting for Harry to tell him, but he doubted Tom would wait for that to happen. Harry remembered Humphrey mentioning that Tom was sending letters, which he had thought odd, and he also remembered the letter Tom had received and hid away for them. He was almost positive that this was the letter Tom had received that day.

He definitely had to keep a closer look on Tom from now on. The other boy was curious about him now and Harry didn't want him to find out the truth. Harry also wondered why Tom would leave this letter so carelessly on the floor, maybe he had wanted Harry to find it, so he would know Tom found this out about him. Or maybe he had just been careless, but Harry doubted Tom was ever careless about anything, let alone something as important as this.

Harry put the letter back in its envelope and left it the same way he had found it, so Tom would not notice Harry had found it, and started towards the showers after putting down his detection charm. It wouldn't do to bring even more suspicion to himself if someone noticed that spell.

He would definitely have to be more careful from now on, or his plans could go horribly wrong.

**A/N. Thank you for the reviews you have left me, especially to those reviewing every chapter since the beginning. I really enjoy getting them; it motivates me to keep writing this story.**

**Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, but as I'm sure you'll understand it's been busy with Christmas and New Years Eve and everything. **

**Because someone asked me where I'm from, I'm from The Netherlands, which may explain some of the grammar mistakes I make. But I'm glad I have a wonderful beta who makes me feel like I'm in English class all over again. I truly appreciate her work, and you should too, considering some of the mistakes I make. **

**This chapter hasn't been revised yet, I didn't want to make you wait any longer. There are still some older chapters that have to get changed, and I consider putting this story on a short hold so I can get the earlier chapters up first before continuing. Let me know in a review what you want, keep reading the non-revised chapters or waiting longer and reading them revised?**

**Well, thanks again for reading, and keep sending me reviews, I love them ;)**

**M.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer. Not mine. Everything you recognize belongs to J.K.**

**A/N. Another chapter. I finally found out that I can respond to your reviews, after 10 chapters :/. So I responded to the ones I got from the last chapter, and from now on, I will be responding to new reviews. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to leave me a review, to let me know what they thought on the story so far. I got some tips, and I'm always working on improving my writing and the flow of this story, so every tip I get is helpful. **

**Enjoy this chapter. Not much is happening in this chapter, but you will be getting a few answers to your questions. But to make up for the lack of action in this chapter, I already have the next chapter set up, so you can expect it this weekend or the beginning of next week. **

**In darker times – chapter 11**

Harry spend the two weeks practicing his spell work. The euphoric feeling he had felt during his lesson with Tom had returned every time he did it right. He had tried to put more power behind his spells, and it was a lot easier now that he knew how it was supposed to feel like. Harry only practiced with weaker spells, to see the effect on the spell if he put more or less power behind it; and he was surprised to see his class work improve dramatically. It was like he finally understood every spell, like he had total control of his magic. He felt its presence even when he wasn't using it, just waiting for him to cast a spell. He had unlocked a power he hadn't known he possessed before, or maybe he had, but he just hadn't realised it was there.

Everyone around him seemed to notice his drastic mood change as well, for everyone asked him why he was so happy all of a sudden. Even his teachers had commented on his improved school work. His essays turned out better as well, now that he understood better what the teachers had been talking about.

The letter he had found on the floor next to Tom's bed had been on his mind as well, but since Tom hadn't acted strangely around him he didn't worry about it a lot. He knew what the letter had been about of course; Tom had asked the Ministry of Magic for any records on Harry Evans. But such record didn't exist, since Harry Evans didn't exist in this world. He didn't exist in any world as far as Harry knew. He had been worried that Tom would dig deeper and find out that it was an alias, and confront him about it. But Tom had done no such thing, to Harry's great relief.

He hadn't had any lessons after his last, Tom had wanted him to practice this first and tell him when he was ready. Harry wanted to try out some more powerful spells first before continuing to his next lesson; he wasn't going to make his last mistake again. He had asked for his lesson when he wasn't ready, and he had had a rough time during that few hours. He would be ready the next time Tom would teach him something new.

Right now Harry was sitting in the library, paging trough a spell book in search of a few interesting spells he could try. He had been doing this for the last couple of days, the spells he already knew where boring him. They weren't strong enough, not interesting enough. And they didn't give him the effect he wanted. Every time Harry had cast a spell, he had felt his magic react, but it was holding back. None of the spells where strong enough to make his magic react like he wanted it too.

He had been using the Room of Requirements to practice his spells; he had asked it to represent a duelling room. The room had reacted like Harry suspected; it had provided him with practicing dummies. The dummies where lifeless, and reacted how any human body would react to his spells. Harry hadn't tested them a lot, he had only cast some mild curses on them, but they had been useful. He had tried a body bind curse on the dummy, and it had fallen to the floor like it was bound in response. Harry had wondered then what would happen to the dummy if he would cast a heavier curse on it. He had cast a stinging hex at it to test it, and the dummy had fallen to the floor again, twisting its arms and legs. That proved Harry's theory about the training dummy, it would react the same as any human body would. It gave him a thrill, he could try every curse and hex on the dummy and no one would get hurt. He wondered if Tom knew about this, but decided he didn't really care. This was something Harry would be doing on his own. He didn't need any help with this.

So right now, Harry was searching through a book on defensive curses, since the Hogwarts library didn't offer any offensive curse books. But Harry wasn't impressed, the stinging curse was one of the 'meaner' spells in this book, and Harry already knew that spell. He wanted something stronger, so he could test the dummy, and his magic.

He closed the book with a sigh and put it back on the pile of books he had already paged through. Vincent, who was writing his potions essay on the other side of the table, looked up at him with a confused look on his face.

"What are you searching for anyway?"

"Nothing in particular." He wondered if he could tell Vincent, since he was from an old pure-blooded family he would definitely know about some darker spells. But he didn't know if Vincent would tell anyone else, especially Tom, about Harry asking about them.

"You should go see the Restricted Section if you are searching for something stronger." Vincent wasn't looking at him, but Harry could see the smirk plastered on his face.

"Who said I was looking for stronger curses?"

Vincent put his quill down, and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's obvious, Harry. You're searching though these books like a maniac, and you get this insane grin on your face every time we're practicing magic in class. I know that feeling, and the other guys do as well, we're purebloods after all. The feeling is getting less isn't it, and that is why you are searching for stronger spells. Because you want to feel it again, and when that isn't working anymore, you will be searching for even stronger spells."

Harry looked down at the table, tracing the wood pattern with his eyes. He felt Vincent's eyes stay on him, waiting for his respond.

Vincent was right, that was exactly the reason Harry was sitting here.

"It's alright, Harry. It's a perfectly normal reaction after you have learned how to feel your magic. You should get one of the books from the restricted section, and try a Dark spell. I learned some from books at home, but I obviously couldn't take them with me to Hogwarts."

"Who taught you how to feel your magic?"

"My father." Vincent rolled his eyes, like it was an obvious answer.

"What about the age restriction for doing magic outside of school?"

"The wards on our house prevent the Ministry from noticing. But I can't do magic outside the wards."

"But how did you know I have learned how to feel my magic?"

"It's not a very common thing to learn, since only powerful wizards are able to do it. And only very powerful wizards, which aren't many, can control it."

Harry's head shot up, only to meet the smug smirk on Vincent's face.

"Don't even pretend like Tom isn't teaching you how to control it."

"How did you know that was what Tom was teaching me? Can you control your magic?"

"No, sadly, I can't." Vincent's face turned darker at that, like it was hard for him to admit it.

"That's not a bad thing, right? You said for yourself that very few wizards and witches can control their magic."

"I know, but my father can, and he is disappointed in me because I can't."

"You still didn't answer how you knew about my lessons with Tom." Harry decided to change the topic, since Vincent didn't seem very comfortable discussing this.

"Tom showed interest in you, Harry. He told us to keep our distance from you, and he keeps disappearing with you for several hours on end after which you return exhausted. I am the one who taught Tom how to feel and eventually control his magic. So I figured that he would be the one who was teaching you after I saw the signs of magic addiction on you."

"Addiction? I'm not addicted." Harry was stunned, Vincent teaching Tom? And he had never heard of an addiction to magic before.

"It's not very common, because not many can control their magic enough to get addicted. But I recognized the signs, because my cousin suffered from it. Be careful, Harry. You could easily lose your mind because of it."

"Has Tom ever been addicted?"

"I think he still is, but he keeps the signs covered since I voiced my worries to him last year. He kept disappearing and then that girl died, Myrtle. Tom said he didn't have anything to do with it, and that half-breed giant got expelled, but I never believed he had anything to do with it. I think Tom knows more, but he keeps denying. Things like that happen when you get in to deep, you don't care for anything anymore, not even another human life."

Harry was shocked; Vincent had never talked so openly to him, especially not about Tom. He knew, of course, about Tom being responsible for Myrtle's dead, but he couldn't tell Vincent. Did it really happen because Tom was addicted to his own magic?

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I think you should know, before you get too involved in Tom. I know it goes against everything I ever told you before; I haven't been very nice to you before. But that was a mask; I can't show my real self in Slytherin house, especially not around Tom. And I didn't know if I could trust you before, so I choose to observe you for a while. I don't know how you could be sorted in Slytherin, Harry, because you're not like the rest of us."

"I asked for Slytherin, I had read _Hogwarts a History_ and asked the sorting hat to put me here. I didn't know if it would work, but obviously it did. Why did you suggest me involving myself with Tom if you didn't mean it?"

"Because Tom wanted me to suggest it to you."

"You could have refused."

Vincent laughed at that, it wasn't a happy laugh, more a bit of a desperate laugh.

"You obviously don't know Tom well enough Harry. We aren't on his _favourite _list, he doesn't accept refusal. Either you listen to him and do as you're told, or you end up as Pascal."

"What about Pascal?"

"Surely you have noticed his fear for Tom? He refused to cast the Cruciatus curse on a muggle last summer. He hasn't told anyone what happened after that, but he has been avoiding Tom ever since. He's obviously afraid of Tom, and knowing Tom, he made Pascal regret his refusal."

"Do you spend your summers with Tom?"

"Only Pascal used to, he lives in London, near the orphanage Tom goes to every summer. I have to leave now; I trust that you won't mention this conversation to anyone?"

"Off course not, thanks for telling me." Harry meant it, he was truly grateful to Vincent for telling him all this. He also realised Vincent would get in trouble over this if Tom found out, and he didn't want that to happen. Vincent smiled at him from where he was crouching next to his book bag.

"Dinner will be served in half an hour, you coming?"

"I'll be there, I'm putting this books away first."

Vincent said his goodbye and left Harry to his thoughts. And Harry had a lot to think about, if all this was true then Tom was already much darker than he had first thought. And why had he never heard about magic addiction before? Not even Hermione had known about it, was it really only something happening to powerful wizards and witches? And if that was true, then why was it happening to him? Harry had never thought of himself as very powerful, of course the prophesy suggested otherwise, but he wasn't above average at his schoolwork. And why hadn't Tom told him magic control was so advanced, he had acted as if it was a common thing to learn.

He got up from the wooden table he was sitting on, picking up the stack of books to put them back on their shelves. He was walking slowly, still lost in thoughts.

Harry had so many new unanswered questions, and on top of that he still had that nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him to keep searching for more advanced spells. He didn't feel addicted, so he could still practice some more, right? He now knew about the possibility of addiction, so he would be more careful and watch out for any signs of it, so he could stop before it got out of hand.

It was actually a very good idea of Vincent to go looking in the Restricted Section. There would definitely be some darker, more advanced spells, in there. But was he really ready to try Dark magic? He always considered himself a Light wizard, like Professor Dumbledore. But his whole body and mind told him to try it, and he honestly didn't see anything bad in it, it wasn't as if he used it on a human. He would only try it on a training dummy; there was nothing wrong with that right?

Harry was just setting back the last book when he heard the bell signalling dinner was served. He decided to attend to that first and maybe he could go see the Restricted Section that night and pick up some spell books. It wouldn't hurt anyone to read through them, he could always bring them back if he decided the spells where to dark.

But first he had to get trough dinner.

**A/N. Thank you again for reading. Let me know what you think, I enjoy getting your reviews.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer. Everything you recognise belongs to J.K.**

**A/N. I updated fast this time, this chapter is also a little shorter as planned, but it felt like a right point to stop at.**

**Enjoy :)**

**In darker times – chapter 12**

Harry held his breath when the last students entered the Slytherin Common Room. He was standing under his invisibility cloak, checking the Marauders Map for any straying student or patrolling teacher on the road to the library. It was after curfew, so the castle was silent. The library was also deserted, which meant Harry could easily slip into the restricted section. He noticed Professor Dumbledore was on patrol this evening, but he was currently in the entrance hall, heading towards the headmasters office.

Harry knew he had to act quickly, to minimise the chance of getting caught. He had asked Vincent earlier this evening which book he should be searching for, and Vincent had given him a few titles, but told him to look for _Secrets of the Darkest Art _by _Owl Bullock_ first, and continue for the next few afterwards. This book possessed the darkest curses and the others could wait for later if he got caught.

The dungeons where chilling and dark as Harry walked through them in a fast pace, the candles that usually lit the halls where dimmed after curfew, only giving of an eerie glow, illuminating the stone walls and casting shadows on the floor. Harry now understood why the first year students sometimes got lost, the dungeons where like a maze, and without the usually bright light showing the way every hallway looked the same.

After a short walk, Harry entered the library on the third floor. The library was deserted, and Harry had to light his wand in order to see anything. He quickly made his way over to the restricted section, and opened the spelled robe guarding the entrance with a whispered _Alohamora_, quietly closing it behind him and locking it again. He quietly began his search trough the rows of book, quickly making his way over to the row which held the letter B.

Adrenaline began coursing through his body as he scanned the names of the authors. It didn't take him much time to find the book he was searching for. _Secrets of the Darkest Art_ was a big tome with a damaged black leather cover. He quickly shoved it in his bag, making his way over to the letter S for his next book. Checking the map again he saw Professor Dumbledore entering the library. He gasped in surprise, silently dimming the light of his wand, casting him in darkness. He hid himself behind a book case and kept his eyes on the map, hoping Dumbledore would leave soon.

But Harry had no such luck, for Dumbledore entered the restricted section, standing guard at the entrance robe. It was as if he knew Harry was there, and was waiting for him to leave. Harry had to think fast, was there any other way out, maybe a secret passage? He felt himself starting to panic, he couldn't stay here, and the Marauders map didn't show any other way out. He had to wait and hope for Dumbledore to leave again. He certainly would not be searching for any of the other books.

A few minutes passed, which felt like a few hours, with Harry's eyes fixed on the map he held in front of him. Professor Dumbledore hadn't moved from his spot, but he had begun pacing up and down the short corridor. Harry suddenly saw another dot entering the library, with a name Harry didn't recognize underneath it. It must have been a student, for he heard Professor Dumbledore ask if he needed to accompany the student in his search for the required book. The student accepted, to Harry's great relief. This could offer him a chance to slip out of the restricted section unnoticed. He did find it awfully strange Dumbledore would help a student after curfew, and not just during the day, but he didn't dwell on it to long, grateful for the distraction.

He quickly checked the map once more, to be certain there was no one else around he could run into before packing it away in his bag, he also dropped the book in the bag after which he made sure his invisibility cloak covered both him and his bag. He waited for the professor and the unknown student to pass his shelf before silently slipping towards the exit. His next obstacle presented itself quickly; he had to open the robe. He would need to use an _Alohamora _spell for that, he only hoped Dumbledore would not hear him. He quickly checked over his shoulder, making sure Professor Dumbledore was far enough away before casting his spell and quickly closing it after him again.

He sighed in relief after he had left the library, slumping against the wall. That had been a close call, and Harry was glad he had managed to get the book before he had had to make his sudden leave. If Dumbledore would have caught him he would have been in big trouble, the man already didn't trust him entirely and this would only have fuelled his suspicion.

He slowly made his was back towards the dungeons, entering the cold stone corridors. They where still eerily dark and silent, sending goose bumps on Harry's skin. He suddenly felt as if the chill was worse than normal, making him stop dead in his tracks. He quickly fished the Marauders Map from his bag, activating it and checking if anyone was near him. He didn't see any dots in the dungeons, outside of the common room, so no one could be responsible for the sense of dread that Harry felt. Then what was the cause of it? Harry decided he should be heading to the common room quickly, blaming the chill on his loss of the adrenaline he had felt earlier. After a few minutes of walking Harry hit a dead end, cursing him for not paying attention. He quickly turned around, checking the map for the correct route without noticing he was walking straight trough something misty.

It felt like someone had dropped a bucked of icy water on top of him, making him shiver and stop walking abruptly. He turned around, only to be faced with the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost. Only the Baron wasn't paying attention to him, he was floating in the air, his back facing Harry.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to walk trough you, I hadn't noticed you."

A sense of dread filled Harry when the Bloody Baron didn't answer him, he didn't even acknowledge him.

"Bloody Baron, sir? Are you alright?"

Harry took his wand out and slowly began to make his way around the Baron, making sure not to touch the ghost again. He had never particularly liked the Baron, he wasn't known to be very sociable like Nearly-Headless Nick for example, and he knew he wasn't the only student who feared the ghost. The Bloody Baron usually kept to himself, not mingling with the students a lot. The few times he was seen around the castle were when Peeves was making trouble, for the Baron was the only one able to control the poltergeist.

Harry decided something was definitely not right with the ghost. He finally got a glimpse of the Baron's face and nearly jumped with what he saw. The normally stern look on the Baron's face was replaced with one of fury, but what scared Harry most where his eyes. Normally his eyes where the same slivery colour as the rest of his body, but his eyes where black right now, glaring at nothing in particular. Harry had a sense of deja-vu, and immediately remembered Nearly-Headless Nick in his second year, when he was petrified by the basilisk. But Harry noticed this was not the same, Nick hadn't had those scary black eyes back then; his eyes had still been normal. But the Bloody Baron certainly looked like he was petrified; he was just floating in the air, not responding to Harry's presence in any way.

Harry knew he should probably inform a professor about the Baron, but he was also aware he wasn't supposed to be roaming the castle, let alone this far in the dungeons carrying an invisibility cloak and a banned book around. Professor Dumbledore would not be pleased if he found out, and maybe he would even suspect Harry to have something to do with the Baron's condition.

Harry checked the Map again, trying to find another teacher nearby. The only teacher close by was Professor Slughorn, who was currently walking around in his private rooms. Harry decided Slughorn would have to do and started a slow jog towards the man's rooms. He was glad to have his map with him or he would've never been able to find his way back this quickly, and after a short run he stood before the professor's door. He quickly remembered to stuff both his map and invisibility cloak in his bag before knocking.

He only had to wait a short moment before the door opened, revealing Professor Slughorn in his dark purple robes. The man looked surprised to see Harry standing before him, but quickly snapped his jaw shut before replacing it with a bright smile.

"Harry, my boy, what brings you here after curfew? Quick, come in before another teacher catches you out of the common room."

"No, professor, there is no time; you have to come with me! There is something wrong with the Bloody Baron!"

Harry had already started to turn around, walking down the corridor again before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy there, Harry, why don't you tell me what's wrong first?"

Harry sighed, before turning back to face Slughorn again, "I got lost walking towards the common room, and I stumbled upon a dead end. The Baron was floating there, but he isn't responding and his eyes are black. Something is wrong, sir, please come with me." Harry pleaded, hoping the professor would hurry.

Luckily, Professor Slughorn noticed his panic for he quickly closed his door and started following Harry down the corridor. The man already had his wand out, ready for anything that might happen. Gone was the normally chipper man, an alert man had taken his place in return. Harry luckily found his way back without his map, and the Bloody Baron was still floating in the same place Harry had left him.

"Bloody Baron, good evening!" Harry rolled his eyes at Slughorn's barely hidden anxiety. And as before, the Baron didn't respond. Professor Slughorn slowly began to make his was over to the Baron as well, and gasped when he saw the ghost's eyes, just like Harry had before. Slughorn took a large step back, turning around to face Harry again. His eyes where wide, and he swallowed noticeably before acknowledging Harry again.

"Go back to your Common Room, Harry, right now. I'm going to inform Headmaster Dippet."

"What is wrong with him, sir?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Harry. Quickly now." Slughorn began ushering Harry away from the ghost, and Harry noticed the man looked pale, a shimmer of sweat was starting to form on the man's forehead. Harry knew this was not a normal situation, and didn't go against the order. He turned around and started to make his way back to the main corridor, where he knew his way back to the common room. Slughorn followed him, his wand still tightly clutched in his hand. The man was breathing heavily, and left once he was sure Harry was safely at the entrance of the common room.

"Now, Harry, don't leave the common room again tonight. Also make sure no one else leaves. I will cover up for you, but I expect you to keep to your curfew in the future, you understand? Also, don't tell anyone about what you witnessed just yet."

"Yes, sir, thank you. Do you have any idea what might be wrong with the Baron?"

Slughorn gave him a long stare before sighing, "I have my suspicions, I confess, but I don't know anything for sure. You don't have to worry about it; Headmaster Dippet will know what to do." He didn't look to sure about that, Harry noticed, but didn't press further for he knew the professor wouldn't tell him more.

Harry spoke the password, opening the door to the common room, and saw Professor Slughorn walking away. Swallowing visibly, he turned around and entered the common room; he knew he had some explaining to do.

**A/N. Thank you again for reading. I enjoy getting your reviews, and I really appreciate it when people take their time to leave me a message. I always use any input or critic's people give me, so if there is anything you would like to see differently, let me know, and I might take it into consideration. Of course any other reviews are also welcome ;)**

**M**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N. New chapter :). I hope you enjoy this one. Please leave me a review to let me know.**

**In Darker Times – chapter 13**

Harry felt exhaustion starting to take over the moment he let his body fall down on the sofa. He let his eyes fall shut and let out a relieved sigh. His friends where all staring quietly at him, all but one; Harry noticed Tom was missing.

"Where's Tom?"

Humphrey was the first to respond. "Detention, I reckon he will be back soon though."

"Detention for what?"

"I don't know and I don't want to know either. Now, tell us what happened, why did Professor Slughorn drop you off?"

"Did you get caught?" Vincent leaned forward, not looking worried at all. The other boys looked suspicious.

"Caught doing what, Harry?" Harry glared at Vincent, contemplating if he should tell his roommates. He decided he had to tell them something, thanks to Vincent.

"I went to the Restricted Section tonight." Seeing the eager faces of his friends he quickly added, "I didn't get caught though."

"Then why did Professor Slughorn bring you back to the Common Room?" Of course Humphrey wouldn't forget.

"He caught me when I was walking back, but he doesn't know where I went. He thinks I was out after curfew because I lost track of time."

Luckily for Harry, his roommates all believed him.

"Look, guys, I'm really tired. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." He stood up and started to head upstairs when the portrait opened again. Turning around, Harry saw a sour looking Tom enter trough it. Instead of greeting them, Tom walked passed them and pushed Harry out of the way, before climbing the stairs. Harry quickly followed him to the Dormitory.

"What did they make you do for detention, Tom?" Tom glared at him, and Harry didn't expect to get an answer from him. Instead, Harry started to grab some clean clothing from his trunk.

"I had to stay in Dumbledore's office all night; he questioned me about something I had asked Professor Slughorn about." It was a quiet answer, but Harry picked up on it nonetheless.

"What did you ask Slughorn that was so important to Dumbledore?"

"That is none of your business!" Harry almost jumped at the anger coming from Tom; he glanced behind him to see Tom pacing in front of his bed.

"I went to the Restricted Section tonight, Dumbledore almost caught me. But you returned here after me, where did you go after you're… talk, with Dumbledore?"

Tom's interest was perked after that, he stopped pacing to stare intently at Harry.

"Clever, Harry, but it doesn't really matter where I went, does it? What book where you searching for?"

"It doesn't really matter what book I searched for, does it, Tom?" Harry smirked when he saw Tom becoming angrier.

"Don't turn the question around, Harry, tell me what book you where searching for!" Tom almost held a desperate tone in his voice.

"More then one actually, but I was only able to take one, _Secrets of the Darkest Art. _I wanted to practice some darker spells after our last lesson." Tom's face changed from angry to euphoric in seconds, making Harry wonder if there truly wasn't anything wrong with him.

"Give it to me! Dumbledore went to the Restricted Section to remove most of the dark art books, including this one, because he knew I was going to take it!" Harry frowned, he had never seen such display of emotions from Tom before, aside from anger, and it didn't sit well with him.

"No."

"What? I said… give me the _book_!"

"_No."_

Tom's face turned into a sneer, and Harry was almost afraid the boy would attack him at that point. But Tom took a few breaths and calmed himself down. His face turned back to the perfectly sculptured façade again, but Harry still saw the anger in his eyes. And he could clearly see the similarity between these ice blue eyes and the crimson ones from Voldemort; it was the same anger residing inside them, the same bitterness. It made Harry wonder what Dumbledore could have said to change him so much in one night, or maybe something else had happened.

"Harry, that book is very important to me; give it to me… _please._" Harry would have laughed at Tom saying please to anyone, if it wasn't for the anger surging trough the room.

"Tom, I want to know why you want it, and I want to read it first. I didn't go through all this trouble just to give it to you."

Tom advanced toward him, a predatory smile on his face, making Harry take a few steps backwards only to walk in the wall. He tried his best not to show Tom his discomfort, but he knew he failed horribly. Tom was only inches away from his body at the moment; he could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

"O, but I thought you where so generous, always willing to help another. Why not do this _just for me?_" Tom's voice was quiet, almost husky. Harry could feel the warm breath tickling the skin on his neck, making his eyes fall closed and goosebumps to rise on his skin. He couldn't think straight, but he kept tying to focus.

"I am willing to help; I told you that you could have it after I read it." His voice sounded weak in his own ears, and judging by the soft chuckle, Tom had noticed as well.

"But I want it, right _now._"

And that was when Harry felt his bag move, and he quickly snapped his eyes open to see Tom holding the book, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You _bastard!_ Give it back to me!"

"Stop pouting, Harry, I told you before, it doesn't suit you." Winking, Tom made his way back over to his bed. Sitting down with the book on his lap, he closed the curtains around his bed.

"I'll get it back from you, Tom!"

"Sure you will good luck with that, Harry."

Harry hated himself at that moment, and swore to himself he would find out what was so important about that book.

**IDT**

Paschal didn't know what had happened between Harry and Tom last night, but he felt very unnerved about them not talking to each other. Harry kept shooting hateful looks at Tom, and Tom kept pretending he didn't notice, but Paschal knew Tom _had _noticed.

He didn't like this at all; he had felt almost comfortable after Harry's arrival at the school. He hadn't trusted Harry at first, just as his friends hadn't trusted him. Humphrey had told them to give the boy a chance, he obviously had a rough life before coming here, and Humphrey was focused on his new _project_, he wanted to find out about Harry's life.

But Harry had been persistent, and Humphrey quickly gave up after starting liking Harry. Edmond had told them it where minor secrets, only a rough childhood and they should let it go. But Paschal didn't trust him, the boy hung around Tom to much. He knew things, and Paschal had wanted to find out what it was.

Of course Tom had wanted the same thing; Paschal quickly saw Tom's interest. And he knew that if Tom wanted something, or _someone_, he would stop at nothing. Paschal had almost immediately admitted his jealousy, not that he had feelings for Tom, he wasn't gay. But anyone always wanted Tom's attention, every one of his friends had tried to become close to Tom. The boy held an aura that drew people to him. Even Dumbledore had noticed that, because had had watched the boy like a hawk since first year. But maybe Dumbledore hadn't watched close enough, for he missed everything that had happened last year with Myrthle. Everyone believed Hagrid and his _beast_ had killed the girl, but Paschal knew Tom had done something. He never figured out what he had done, and he probably never would figure it out, but he knew Hagrid was innocent.

And now Tom was interested in Harry, and Harry didn't even realize how _special_ he was, how privileged he was for having that attention. At times, especially when Tom was angry, Paschal would almost drown in that aura, and Harry could be around him all day. He wished _he_ could be that close to Tom. He would appreciate it more than Harry did, even after he had found out first hand what Tom was capable of…

He had confronted Tom a few weeks ago, a few days before their first Hogsmeade weekend. He had told him about what he thought about Harry. About how he didn't trust the boy so close to Tom. He told him that he was making a mistake for being interested in Harry, and he obviously made a mistake himself by saying that.

Tom had told him he _never _made mistakes, and that he should never question him again. Tom had gone on and on about how useless he was, that he was nothing to him, less than _scum_, and that he should just die.

And Tom had taken him to a room, a hidden room he had said, and he had _practiced_ an unforgivable curse on him. The _Cruciates _curse. Paschal had heard about the unforgivables, but he had never used or witnessed one before then, and he never wanted to feel it again.

He had felt like thousands of knives where pierced trough his skin, like boiling water was poured over his body. And afterwards, Tom had just left him there, but not before telling him that he never wanted him anywhere near him again and that he should talk to no one about this.

And Paschal hadn't talked about it, not to anyone. He felt ashamed, dirty, and he couldn't help but to blame Harry for it. But he knew he could never say anything bad about Harry, or Tom wouldn't hesitate to cast that _curse_ on him again. And he _never_ wanted to feel that again, ever.

And now that Tom and Harry weren't speaking, his fear of Tom only intensified. Harry had kept him busy, he had kept Tom's thoughts away from other things, mainly himself, and Paschal feared what would happen if that attention came back to one of them. Paschal knew from the nervous faces of his roommates that they felt the same, but they could never talk about it of course.

Paschal looked up at the head table, and saw Professor Dumbledore talk to Headmaster Dippet. He had thought about telling one of them, and he still wanted to tell someone what had happened. Surely they wouldn't stand for torture in the school? But he knew Tom would torture him again if he found out that he told someone, he would find a way, and maybe he would do worse.

**IDT**

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air the next day at breakfast. Harry refused to talk to Tom and vice versa. Tom still sat down across from him, making it harder for Harry to ignore him. Tom had a smug look on his face, and it annoyed Harry greatly. He had been thinking about how to get the book back from Tom, but he knew Tom would keep it from him. He noticed Tom carried the book with him in his bag, so sneaking back to the dungeons was of no use. And he knew Tom guarded his bag so he had no change of stealing it.

The other boys where also on edge. They had tried to talk to him, asked him what had happened. But they had all stopped asking once Tom had walked in the great hall. No one spoke, and he noticed Vincent and Edmond shooting each other a look, after which they stood and walked over to sit with a group of fifth year boys.

Humphrey tried to talk to Paschal a few times, but the boy seemed awfully distracted. Thinking on it now, Harry noticed Paschal had been anxious and distracted for a few weeks now. He had wondered on it before, and asked him about it a few times, but the boy had always avoided the question or had even avoided Harry most of the time. Harry couldn't get himself to care very much; he had enough to worry about on his own.

Looking up, he saw Tom still smirking his way, taking a bite out of his toast. Harry didn't know what to think, he felt so angry and still, he had started to trust Tom somewhat. Tom had betrayed that trust, and he didn't care anything about it.

"You like this don't you?" Humphrey and Paschal fell silent, obviously listening in on them.

"Of course I do, Harry." Of course he did, what did he think Tom would answer?

Harry kept silent, not knowing what to say. Tom leaned back in his seat, sighing.

"Harry, I needed that book." Like that explained everything.

"What for?"

"I would have told you yesterday if I planned on telling you." Obviously.

"I went trough a lot of trouble getting that book, if not for me, Dumbledore would have it now and you would have _nothing_."

"I know, and I am eternally grateful." Tom held his hand to his heart, mocking Harry.

"Why didn't you just go to the Restricted Section yourself if you wanted it so badly?"

"Do you think Dumbledore would let me in there?"

"Dumbledore let me, didn't he?"

"Not if he knew you would go."

"So he knew you would be going?" Tom raised an eyebrow at his question, not bothering to answer. The answer was obvious, of course Dumbledore knew Tom would go, that was the whole reason he took all those books out of the library.

"Look, Harry, I'm not going to apologise to you, because I didn't do anything wrong," Harry rolled his eyes at that, "I didn't. But if you tell me _why_ you wanted that book, maybe I can give you something to help."

Harry contemplated the offer; he still wanted to have that book. Now more then ever since he wanted to find out what Tom was so focused on. But he had wanted it for the Dark spells in the first place, and Tom most likely knew a lot of those.

"I still want that book back. But I wanted it mostly because of some Dark spells. I wanted to practice what you thought me with stronger magic."

"Why didn't you ask me right away?"

"I knew you would want something in return. And it was something I wanted to do on my own."

"Are you ashamed of yourself, Harry?" Harry took a few seconds to think it over. Yes, maybe he was ashamed. He had always considered himself a light wizard, and he knew Dumbledore would be disappointed in him if he found out that his _Golden Boy _was practicing the Dark Arts. But should he really be ashamed?

"I don't know, I never really thought about it." Tom only smirked knowingly.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of doing what you are destined for, Harry. Dark spells are only dark if the caster is dark."

"Who said I am destined for the Dark Arts?"

"I am." Of course he was. Harry only rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, since you are such a know-it-all, Tom, why do you need the book?"

"Nice try, Harry." Tom winked at him and stood from the table. "I'm going to class." And he left the great hall.

"Insane lunatic, that is what he is."

"Make sure he doesn't hear you say that, Harry." Harry had totally forgotten about Humphrey and Paschal. "He takes more from you than from us, but don't get to close to him. He will only break you if you get to close."

"Like I will get close to _him._" Like he would get close to the freaking _Dark Lord._

**A/N. I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think about Paschal's POV. I don't know if I will be using someone else's POV again, but if you like it, I might do it again.**

**That was all; please leave me a review ;)**

**M**


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